Mission: Impossible The Hida Factor
by BMillsWrites
Summary: The lives of IMF agent Ethan Hunt and Officer Hiroki Hida secretly crossed, and now Cody Hida has become a target that Hunt and his IMF team must protect.
1. Prologue

Mission: Impossible -- The Hida Factor 

Prologue: 

The library on the campus of Old Line State University was not simply the finest in Maryland, but boasted one of the most comprehensive holdings in all the United States. That status made this college library one of the busiest, most visited places in its region. No one in the building's crowded lobby had reason to notice when he came in and browsed his way over to the library checkout desk. He was wearing casually intellectual attire. Granted, his hair might be a bit too long for the overall look, but it contributed to the impression of him as one of those non-traditional students. Just another back-to-school adult trying unsuccessfully to show he was still young, right? He enjoyed these little cameos and sank into his role by leaning into the desk. He rested his folded arms on the desktop, and impatiently tapped his feet while waiting for assistance. 

"Can I help you sir?" the desk clerk asked sharply, coming over to face him. 

"Oh, yes." he began, sounding absent-minded and straightening up. "I was looking for something on mysticism in the Far East." 

"Nothing like heavy reading. I don't suppose you've tried the computer catalog yet?" the clerk asked, annoyed. 

"Well to be honest I trust fate more than technology, what do you recommend?" 

The apparently frustrated clerk snatched up a pencil and scribbled something quickly on a notepad. "There's an intriguing essay on fate in this title. You can find it using the computer catalog, that's the place to start, sir." The clerk thrust the paper at him. 

"OK, ok. Thanks." he said in a convincing what-did-I-do voice before scanning the recommendation and walking away. A few minutes later he was on the library's lower level, passing a hand with aimless purpose over books on a back shelf. His hand found and withdrew the recommended text. Next, he ambled over to a reading stall and sat down with his selection. Just another egghead with a book, for all appearances. But he was really no ordinary scholar and this was no ordinary book. 

He turned real pages until he found the thumbprint scanning lock that opened a vertically oriented miniature laptop the book-shaped shell contained. In spite of the technical complexity its size demanded, the device was still rather simple in function. It had a display screen and a disc drive for a tiny CD, which was also housed within the shell. He removed the CD from its place and popped it into the provided drive. He kept the display screen in front of his body, shielding it as its minimized glow indicated its operation. The IMF seal came on-screen as the laptop transmitted the audio feed directly to the internal ear piece he was wearing: 

*Good morning Mr. Hunt.* The IMF seal faded and was replaced by a file photo of a man Ethan Hunt knew in a professional capacity, and hated on a personal level. *This, as you know, is Delton Zane. Zane has intentions of once again being a major player in the business of international destabilization by assassination for hire. Those intentions were recently made clear when Zane orchestrated the theft of the Eden Device from a high security government storage complex. This occurred while you were engaged with a previous mission, or you would have been informed immediately.* 

Hunt felt an adrenaline rush course through him below the intellectual demeanor he projected this morning. The only thing more inconceivable than Zane stealing the Eden Device was the chaos he could cause if he actually managed to use it. But he shouldn't be able to use it -- not with the present configuration of its genetic master sequencer. Hunt had seen to that himself, some time ago. Had it really been just over three years ago? The laptop display screen shifted to a schematic of the Eden Device, and the audio continued. *It's believed that, in acquiring the Eden Device, Zane has learned that its genetic master sequencer was intentionally spliced with the DNA code of a Japanese police officer, one Hiroki Hida now deceased, as a means of preventing its use when the technology was in great risk of falling into Zane's hands. Of course, Mr. Hunt, you know more about that set of circumstances than any other IMF agent. This condition, referenced as the Hida Factor, will delay Zane's ability to use the Eden Device. However, we now have reason to believe this will not deter Zane for long without IMF intervention.* 

The laptop screen changed again to show what appeared to be a school picture of a young boy with piercing green eyes and a solemn face. Hunt had a haunting suspicion of the boy's identity, even before the audio confirmed it. *This boy is Cody Hida, the only son of the late Hiroki Hida. Since half the boy's chromosomes were provided by his father, he is the only remaining living source of Hiroki Hida's complete DNA code. IMF believes Zane will move to acquire the child for use as a filter to screen the genetic master sequencer as he uses the Eden Device. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: prevent Zane's taking the boy, retrieve the Eden Device, capture and/or neutralize Zane. It's now preferable to destroy the Eden Device, but be advised that it can not co-exist safely with the Hida boy enabling its use by undesirable parties. If the Eden Device cannot be retrieved other, less preferable options may become necessary. You have full clearance to select IMF agents for this mission, to brief them on the Eden Device, and the Hida Factor. As always, should you or any of your IMF team be captured or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good luck Mr. Hunt. This disc will self-destruct in five seconds.* 

Ethan Hunt closed the book-shaped shell tightly. Five seconds later there were a few wisps of odorless smoke that easily passed as so much dust from the book's cover. He left the book and exited the reading stall, knowing that the disc's destruction would trigger a further chain reaction. The book itself would be nothing but a strange pile of dust in less than a minute. He maintained his assumed academic aspect as he made his way out of the library. However, he was already thinking of the IMF agents best suited for the new mission. He was definitely taking this one. After all, how many times did fate give you the chance to protect the only son of a man who had saved your life? 


	2. Two Teams, One Way

Mission: Impossible -- The Hida Factor

[Disclaimer: I do not own either "Mission: Impossible" or "Digimon" or either's characters. Their use in the following work of fiction is purely for entertainment only.]

[AN: Ready for a change of pace? With the main story of LMO completed at long last, I turn my attention to the one other story idea that just wouldn't go away for me. I've always been a fan of Mission: Impossible and I feel a connection of personality (at least part of the way I was as a child) in Cody Hida. I wondered if I could compose a story that would bridge the gap. This is the full start of my own answer, which seems to be: yes I can! Thanks to "Timp" for a great beta read on this one. I suppose it is enough to make a beta reader go "Eesh!" Enjoy it! --BM]

Chapter 2: Two Teams, One Way

The townhouse, just outside DC and untraceably but undeniably an IMF site, was spacious enough. The look of upscale decor masked elaborate security, communications, and informational systems. Ethan Hunt, now dressed in black tie formal wear, waited in a conference room that appeared to be a large drawing room. When computer analysis had confirmed Hunt's team selection for the current mission with two men and two women, a dinner party of appropriately yuppie proportions seemed a perfect cover for the initial briefing. He was the host and the guests -- the members of his new team, were arriving.

The first pair to arrive made an admittedly good looking couple. Norman Teller's specialty was biotechnology, at thirty-three Teller was young enough to be brilliantly innovative yet old enough to merit the respect necessary in acquiring information from Asian biotech suppliers. Teller escorted Komi Nagamu, a twenty-five year-old second generation Japanese American whose fresh-from-college looks belied advance training in child psychology. The other couple arrived fashionably, if irritatingly, late. That was not the fault of Paige Brooke, still beguiling at thirty-five, and expert with all IMF gadgetry including weapons. Ethan Hunt knew that the delay was a flash of grandstanding by the thirty-one year old Quint Morgan. Morgan's skill with vehicles of all kinds was matched by only two things, his effectiveness as a counter-terror operative and his reputation as a difficult subordinate. Morgan had wanted to be promoted to an IMF team leader when available, but leadership fell Hunt's way instead. If Morgan wanted to play games, so be it -- but only so far. Ethan Hunt knew all that could be played, and then some. Right now, it was the mission that mattered. 

"I'm glad you could all make it." Hunt greeted, flashing his most disarming smile. "It's an IMF feast tonight, and the eventual main course is Delton Zane. Quint, care to describe who we'll be sinking our teeth into?" 

"Certainly, Ethan." Morgan gave the first-name-basis routine the slightest edge. "Delton Zane, of Nordic European dissent, educated in the US. The quasi-intellectual trappings and high ticket items he surrounds himself with are cover for his real passions -- killing people and making money, neatly combined in the service of assassination for hire. He's pretty smooth himself, it's too bad his business requires association with the usual assortment of savage mercenaries. As of now, his whereabouts are unknown. IMF is checking his old haunts, but I doubt there's any trace of him. Until recently, Zane had been denied a piece of hardware he wanted, but I understand that's no longer the case. It must really irk you, huh Ethan?" 

"You bet Quint." Hunt acknowledged casually, then just as casually commanded the attention of the group away from Morgan. "The hardware Quint mentioned is an extremely sophisticated anti-personnel weapon called the Eden Device." Norman, have you had enough time with the schematics to give us a summary of how it works. 

"I think so Ethan ... it's really remarkable." Teller responded with the interest of a true specialist. "Paige, can you bring up the schematic for everyone please?" 

"Not a problem." Brooke confirmed. She deftly released a panel in what only appeared to be a dining room table. With a few nimble keystrokes a projector hidden in the overhead chandelier beamed into a plasma field generated from the table's centerpiece to render the requested image in 3-D. 

"Thanks." Teller prefaced, then began. "Imagine an anti-personnel weapon so precise that it risks no collateral damage, can't be decoyed, and never takes out the wrong target. If you can't, don't worry because you don't have to. That weapon is the Eden Device. To put it most simply it can be programmed to cause any specific person's DNA to self-destruct from just about anywhere in the world." He noted the disbelieving looks of all but Hunt before continuing. "It's quite genuine I'm afraid. There's a genetic principle that the DNA of all living humans today can be traced back to the genetic profile of a single female ancestor -- an "Eve" if you will. I'm guessing that's why the mechanism is so named. The heart of the Eden Device is a genetic master sequencer or GMS, capable of rapidly formulating the ways a given sample of DNA from a targeted person differ from the hypothetical common profile. Here's the truly terrible part. The device then generates a bioelectric charge that will seek out only the targeted DNA profile, interact with it like a computer virus on a hard drive, and start breaking it down toward the traits of the simpler common profile. A victim is literally pulled apart from the inside on a genetic level. Death results in anywhere from minutes to hours, always painful and never pretty." The biotech expert let a few beats of stark silence go before finishing by detailing the horrific range of the Eden device. "Because its possible to convert an electric signal to transmit in various forms like cable, wire, fiber optics, or even satellite transmissions -- it's possible to release the charge in a number of ways to seek out and find the intended target almost anywhere in the world from anywhere, risking only the slightest reduction in the transmission. The targeted person is at risk anywhere and in any way of contact with an electrical field. It's an assassin's dream come true -- specific murder by remote control." 

There was another pall of silence in the room, finally broken by Morgan "My God! What kind of nut-job dreams up and builds something like that?" 

"One employed by Zane under the delusion of humanitarian medical research, and now dead because he discovered Zane's real purpose, then turned the plans and prototype over to the West; specifically over to me." Ethan Hunt explained and revealed. Now he had everyone concentrating on the stakes of the mission, even Morgan. "Three years ago I was assigned to meet with him, Dr. Adam Medit, to collect the device, data, and hopefully him as well. It was set up in Japan, and I was playing a Japanese bureaucrat taken ill before beginning a diplomatic trip -- needing the good doctor's attention because he just happened to be aboard the same flight of course. It seemed like an effective cover, lots of local security on hand, but nothing over the top. Somehow Zane knew and ambushed the plane while it went through its last security check. It began with a sniper shot that killed Medit. There was a second shot almost instantly, one meant for me -- but taken instead by an observant and dutiful Japanese police officer. That police officer fully believed I was the target of a political assassination, and threw himself knowingly into the line of fire. His name was Hiroki Hida, and he saved my life." 

Komi Nagamu easily observed that Ethan Hunt was a man who knew how to live life and, when necessary, understood the weight of taking life as well. Being prepared to sacrifice and witness sacrifice was very much part of IMF work, yet she could also tell that Hunt was still moved at having been saved by someone outside their advanced degree of assumed risk and for a set of circumstances that were only illusions. She spoke her first words of the evening with care. "That's very inspiring Ethan. I'm guessing that the officer's heroism plays into the current situation in some way." 

Hunt nodded. "That's right Komi. When Hida went down, the second phase of Zane's attack began -- storming the plane. The police were doing what they could to fend off what they assumed was some kind of hijacking, but they weren't going to last against Zane's hired guns. Something was jamming contact with the other members of my team. My only option was to draw Zane in, knowing he'd want to claim the Eden Device and materials personally. Still, I couldn't take a chance on that monster actually taking the device intact. I used its genetic master sequencer to identify Hida's DNA profile, then I spliced that into the GMS." 

Norman Teller was immediately impressed. "I see! Doing that must have effectively garbled the GMS' ability to read its base code and thus unable to formulate any proper deconstruction charge. That was a stroke of genius Ethan!" 

"That's high praise, especially from you Norman. As it turned out, I was able to keep Zane from taking the weapon, but he and a core group of minions got away just as my other team members arrived with police reinforcements." 

Quint Morgan also became excited by what he thought Hunt's revelation meant. "Then Zane has a hold of zilch and doesn't know it! We can use his need to make it operational as a way to draw him out and nail him!" 

For just a split second Ethan Hunt looked angry, but he covered any real feeling quickly with a smile and an amused sigh. "It's more complicated than that now Quint. Paige, will you bring up the last image in the mission file please?" 

She complied instantly, and the deadly schematic was replaced with a 3-D rendering of a young Japanese boy's face. She couldn't help commenting, "Oh, how darling!" 

Ethan had to agree "Yes, a cute kid. An innocent little boy, Quint. He's what Delton Zane needs to make the Eden Device work again. This is Cody Hida, the only child of Officer Hioki Hida." 

Again, Teller understood right away. "If Zane got his hands on that boy he could ..." 

Ethan confirmed Norman Teller's dark speculation. "Exactly! Zane needs to continually filter the GMS, and for that he needs a living reference to Hiroki Hida's complete DNA code. He'll need Cody Hida, and IMF believes Zane already knows that. Tell me Komi, what can you tell me about young master Hida by just seeing this picture? 

Komi first mentally noted that rumors were true, Ethan Hunt did like to challenge his team members from the start. She proceeded to answer Hunt's question. "Well, that hairstyle is extremely traditional, which means the family at least -- and possibly the boy himself -- is culturally traditionalist: manners, duty, and right behavior would be top priorities. Look at those eyes because there's a lot in them too: simplicity, awe, still a touch of innocence -- yet also knowledge, sadness, and real pain. As the only son of a slain father he probably sees himself as at least the impending head of his household. He's probably aware of and capable of more responsibility than someone his age in the West. I'm betting he's socially awkward with kids his own age, but would excel with older friends and adults. I'll know more when I see him in person, which I really hope I get to do." 

Before Hunt could acknowledge Nagamu's analysis Morgan's impulsiveness flared. "This becomes a basic op then. We set up to track the kid, dangle him for Zane to grab, then follow where he's taken right to the weapon." 

Hunt laughed, controlled laughter with a distinctly mocking character. "Quint ... Quint ... I don't think you're catching my drift here. I want to see to it that Zane never touches this boy, never. Is that clear? I consider that the top mission priority. 

Morgan was now in an argumentative mood "Zane's going to move on the boy. Why not use that? We can let him be taken, and still get the weapon, that's what the job should be. We're almost sure to get the Hida kid back without harm." 

Hunt wasn't playing now. "I suppose that's a way to go Quint. It's a good thing it's not the one way this is going to go -- my way. My way says Zane bats a big zero. That means no Cody Hida, and no Eden Device, period. 

"What's the matter Ethan?" Morgan pressed, "Has it been too long since you ran with a Disavowed team to play it any way but safe?" In response Hunt simply stared at Morgan, letting tense seconds build into a tense minute. Morgan fell back in his chair as if forced. He raised his hands off the table, frustrated and beaten. "Fine! Your way Ethan. 

Ethan smiled casually again, like he'd just won a fight with a brother. "Good. Now Komi, a belated thank you for your insights. I hope you're right on the money. It will make what we're going to do easier." 

"Just what are we going to do Ethan?" Paige Brooke asked, pleasantly getting things moving again. 

"It's a three-part game, Paige." Ethan began explaining, "Part one is Quint, Norman, and yourself finding Zane and the Eden Device. Congratulations Quint, your a rising American rock sensation touring to promote your one-hit wonder single into a Japanese following. Paige is your agent and Norman represents your record label. 

"I can handle that." Morgan observed overeagerly. It was too easy to work his vanity. Hunt ignored him. 

"Part two is Cody Hida's school. Komi, you're about to become his new homeroom teacher. You'll get your chance to see him -- and keep him safe." She smiled, but knew the underlying seriousness of her role. 

"I've given myself the hardest assignment." Hunt remarked, I'm going to get to Cody at home by getting to know his mother." He noted Nagamu's flash of a concerned look. "Yes Komi, I'm very aware that there's a chance that courting the widowed mother risks antagonizing the child, and that risk is probably higher here, but it's something Zane might try -- and getting Cody Hida first means outdoing Zane with his own tactics." 

"Excuse me Ethan." Brooke interrupted, confused by something. "You keep saying get Cody like we're the ones who want to kidnap him, not Zane." 

Hunt smiled yet again. Paige showed promise. "That's exactly what we are going to do -- very temporarily." 

The revelation stunned the newly formed team. 

"Why Ethan?" Komi wondered without bringing challenge to her voice. 

"I'm playing a hunch that when Cody Hida understands what's at stake, and he trusts that we'll keep him and the people he loves safe, he'll help us take Zane down." 

Compared to the previous surprise this was a bombshell. It was one that Morgan couldn't help reacting to. "Do you realize what you're saying? You want to basically recruit a nine year-old boy into an IMF mission? That's insane!" 

Hunt stared hard again at Morgan, then smirked. "Yes, and no. Yes, I know that's what I'm saying. No it's not insane Quint -- it's just impossible. That's all team. Get comfortable with your covers. We'll stagger departures for Japan, starting in the next half hour. I'll shut down here. 

Teller and Brooke knew they were dismissed and they left ready to do the job as called for. Their younger colleagues accompanied them, but looked less enthusiastic. Morgan's ego had been bruised, and Nagamu held in professional qualms about the idea of taking Cody at all. For a brief time after the rest were gone Ethan Hunt sat and contemplated the image of Cody Hida's small but solemn face, still being projected before him. 

Nearly two-thirds a day ahead and half a world away from Washington DC a very different kind of team was having lunch in the Odaiba Elementary cafeteria. The group's youngest member was Cody Hida. Of course, the reserved nine-year old boy had no idea that very recently he'd been a major topic of a classified briefing for an elite intelligence team. At the moment the youngster had two very different forms of intelligence to deal with. The topic of conversation at the Digidestined table was the genius Ken Ichijouji, whose emotional demise as the self-proclaimed Digimon Emperor had shaken them all. The fact that the often unfocused, goggle wearing team leader Davis was sitting next to Cody wasn't helping to improve the small boy's scowl. 

"Geez, tuna noodle casserole again?" Davis groaned, "As much of this stuff as they feed us here, you'd think that all life came from the sea." 

Cody caught a gasp that could have easily become one of Yolei's "Well d'uh!"s. He settled for more politely, but pragmatically stating the obvious. "The best evidence says all life did come out of the water Davis. It's good tuna noodle casserole too, really. It may not be mac-and-cheese, but it's perfectly good to eat." 

Davis flinched at the smaller boy's words. Cody was a nice enough little kid, the group's built-in little brother, and even Davis saw him that way. The goggle topped youth just felt there were times a bigger kid didn't want or need to hear from a little brother, especially when the words sounded too much like a mom or that little voice inside your head wanting you to be good ... science something. Anyway, though he didn't mean anything bad by it, Davis reacted to Cody's mild chiding regarding the lunch as if it were really about Ken, which only increased the tension between them. "You don't have to get on my case about food just because you don't like the idea of making friends with Ken!" 

"I'm not doing that Davis." Cody snapped each word off briskly as he said them. "We were talking about the lunch, which is good food, and food is important. As far as Ken Ichijouji goes, I need to think about him more than talk about him. I think we all should." The youngster looked around the table at his other three friends. Their looks were not unkind so much as uncomfortable, which was almost at bad. Cody didn't want to make his friends uneasy. They generally agreed with Davis regarding the fallen Digimon Emperor, and the youngster sensed he had somehow responded too strongly to Davis for the others' liking. It still surprised the thoughtful boy that matter-of-fact statements could seem harsh to other people if you didn't really control the emphasis when you said them. Speaking harshly, even when you weren't meaning to, wasn't the way of friendship. Under the weight of this moment of self-scrutiny Cody lowered his eyes and mitigated quietly, "That's just my opinion, of course." 

The simultaneous drops in Cody's gaze and volume were unmistakable signs of personal disappointment that could leave him too open to sadness. It was a state that the loving and sisterly Yolei had long ago determined was no place to let her young best friend remain in for long. "Don't get down on yourself Cody. We all know you wouldn't believe in a position if you didn't have really good reasons backing it up. We also know that it just takes a lot of proof to make you sure that a change is for keeps. You don't have to agree with the rest of us to be liked, you know. There's no denying that the Digimon Emperor did horrible things, and tried to do worse. But I think we have to consider the way that Ken feels now. Just keep in mind that disagreeing doesn't make anyone right or wrong when it comes to the way people feel, OK?" She finished her advice with a big smile. 

"OK, Yolei," the small boy stated as firmly as he could to show the tall girl he wasn't sad now. She meant the best for him. She also recognized his need for reasons over feelings without making him feel weird about it, but without giving in either. He'd try for her, but Cody decided not to mention that he'd find an invasion of giant polka dot bunnies easier to handle than the concept of relative correctness. 

TK followed up on what Yolei had said by offering Cody more of a chance to have his say. The tall blonde boy knew all too well what it was like to be cast together with older Digidestined. He also wanted Cody to vent any darkness pressed upon him by the battle of good against evil. No one would probably know by looking, but TK sometimes still woke from nightmares that sprang from his earliest days in the Digital World. The already over-serious nine-year old just didn't need any more worries if it could be helped. "What is it that really bothers you about making friends with Ken right away Cody?" 

The pondering, deep green eyes turned gratefully to the tall boy, and Cody almost smiled. He thought about TK's question most thoroughly before answering. "Well ... I guess it goes back to all the evidence TK. I mean, everything we've been through against the Digimon Emp-- Ken tells me that everything he does turns out to be a mean trick to get his way. There's nothing on the other side of the scale that balances him out. I just don't know if there ever will be." 

"Man Cody, evidence and scales?" Davis interjected. "What are you, a lawyer now?" 

"No," the smaller boy admitted simply, "but it would probably be a noble profession." Cody added with innocent association of the legal profession with law enforcement. 

Kari saw her opportunity to say something. She was another veteran Digidestined, and had Cody's respect, with just a little more mannerly awkwardness than the young boy more comfortably extended to TK. She also swayed Davis for entirely different reasons. The Child of Light was sometimes as energetic as Yolei, giggly as Sora, and feminine as Mimi. Still, behind those layers was a driving no-nonsense quality of leadership that matched any Digidestined boy's. She knew just what to say, and could guess what would happen from there. 

"I think you made a very smart analogy Cody, but can I please ask you something about it?" 

"Of course, Kari" the youngster approved, nodding respectfully in her direction. 

"Well, it may be true that good side of Ken's scales are empty, but isn't it going to be that way when he's starting over?" she asked. 

Cody's thin eyebrows arched. "I suppose it would. Though won't it take a while to strike the balance, and isn't that time to be careful?" 

Kari smiled brightly. "It's natural to think so, but maybe not Cody. TK and I were lucky to learn something when we faced the Dark Masters. A bunch of kids against them wasn't very balanced either. We found out that a little bit of good carries a lot more weight than a great deal of evil. That's why we all came home and the Dark Masters are history! It won't take Ken long to even things out ..." 

"See!" Davis interrupted. He was very glad that Kari was on his side for once. 

"I wasn't finished Davis." Kari insisted, "... but it's not going to happen instantly. I at least agree with a suggestion of caution. Davis has made a few overtures to Ken, and we can reach him by e-mail now. Let's see if Ken responds in a positive way before going further, while still being accepting if he does. How's that sound to the two of you?" 

It was an effective compromise because it made neither Davis nor Cody very happy, but the smaller boy acquiesced to her, "OK. You've given me some things to think about. Thank you for pointing them out Kari." 

Surprisingly, it was Davis who balked at Kari's suggestion. "I'm really going to regret this, but no way Kari. Ken really needs friends right now. He's Digidestined whether Cody likes that or not. Backing off might make Ken think we're not really glad he's out of the DE business. It's friendship, full tilt and that's final!" rested his arms behind his head, touching the goggles that were his mantle of leadership. 

Yolei crossed her arms in front of her and began to set into Davis. "Hey look Davis, Cody agreed so you should too --" 

Cody politely checked Yolei before she really got going. "Excuse me Yolei, our food will get cold, and the clock keeps moving. Let's just please eat hot food while we still can. Davis can do what he thinks is best. It's OK, really." The youngster began on his tray in silence. His older friends ate as well, talking about anything else than "business" for the rest of their meal. 

After the group had eaten they broke ranks until school's end. When Cody went to return his tray, TK followed him, for just a little more hopeful talk. "Say Cody, I think that was pretty big of you back there to drop the argument like that. I think Davis has a point about Ken, but he doesn't have to be so pushy about it." 

"Thanks, TK." Cody replied, his quiet rasp of a voice actually lilted slightly, proving he was a little boy and had not allowed the discussion to keep him sad. Then the small boy offered an explaining observation. "Davis is Davis, but he's also our leader. I think I was made a Digidestined for many reasons: to remind, to believe, and to battle -- but not to lead. It's important to teamwork to contribute, then to follow when you're not called to lead. I'll just have to watch and see how Davis' plan will lead us in the one way we need to go." 

"What way is that?" TK asked. 

Cody stated the answer as obviously as if it were printed on the wall of the lunch room. "The right way TK." It made the taller boy chuckle without intending to do so. 

"One more thing Cody," TK pointed out, "Kari told you the truth about the older Digidetined facing the Dark Masters. Still, none of you new Digidestined should feel second rate. You're really gaining experience quickly, OK." 

Cody nodded. "Actually TK, I'm honored that we can continue to draw from your past experiences. They really seem more significant to me right now. I mean you all were trapped in the Digital World. I have the luxury of going home, putting Upamon to bed and being a normal kid. I'm really glad I can too. I don't know what I'd do if I was kept from Mom and Grandpa like that. Uh -- I've got to get my things for class. See you, TK, and thanks again." 

"Sure Cody, bye." TK smiled broadly. The glimpse at Cody's feeling for his family must have suddenly seemed too personal. However, the tall boy was sure that if the small one ever faced such adversity he'd pull through it. Any position Cody Hida held as a "normal kid" was going to be very unintentionally special. 

Walking away from his tall smiling friend, Cody was indeed very glad that his home life was pretty much immune from and unaware of the dangers he faced in the Digital World. The youngster had no idea that his life outside the Digital World was now an international commodity of intrigue, and very much at risk. 


	3. Center On the Small Pawn

Mission: Impossible -- The Hida Factor

[AN: Just when you think I might have gone away, I'm back. The trick here was getting a grip on the plot in classic IMF style, which is basically setting up a scam where the bad guy thinks he's getting away with everything only to discover he's been had from the very beginning. The rudimentary elements of that are here in this chapter. Even if you think you see where this is all going -- trust me, you'll be surprised by the twists I'll put the story (and characters) through before I'm done. Big thanks to my beta reader "Timp". Thanks also to readers "Opus_J" and "Code" for their interest and feedback. Enjoy!] 

Chapter 3: Center On the Small Pawn

Cody Hida was one child who very rarely upset adults, much less had them seething with anger. So at the same time the contemplative youngster was accepting encouragement from his older friend TK, it would have shocked him to realize that he was the cause of a man's fury. Fortunately, Cody had no reason to know of Delton Zane yet. For now the boy was out of Zane's reach, and getting no closer. It was the apparent inability to easily acquire Cody which so angered Zane.

The man had prepared so carefully himself. A site was now ready on one of the smaller offshore islands that could be reached by any inconspicuous recreational vessel from the ports of Odaiba. He possessed the albeit corrupted Eden Device, and the last of the equipment for what would be an unpleasantly invasive filtering system had finally arrived. Now he needed to plug in the Hida whelp, and Zane coldly thought no more of doing that to the boy than he'd hesitate to screw in a light bulb to make the Eden Device functional. Small children could disappear at the hands of mundane deranged individuals, and that's exactly what Zane wanted the taking of young Cody Hida to look like to the police. A convenience snatching wouldn't draw out the law enforcement that a home invasion or more public abduction would. Zane had instructed his men to, "Farm out the acquisition." One or two local thugs could grab the boy on promise of some easy money after being provided with surveillance, only to become plausible scapegoats for the act later. However, Zane's men were now telling him that initial observation of the Hida child made a random-looking kidnapping virtually impossible. He reacted to that assessment with rage. 

"Dolts! You really do surprise and disappoint me! Do I not pay you enough that you cannot arrange the seizure of one small boy?" The powerful flash of an angry hand scattered a pile of faxes Zane had been reviewing. The lesser henchmen stooped to retrieve them. "Do you know what these are? These are offers. I'm a rich man, but there are some frightfully wealthy people willing to make me very rich for killing people with the Eden Device. To do that, I need that child! Is that simple enough for you to understand. Is it Mr. Randall?!" 

Jace "Raptor" Randall checked an impulse to be indignantly angered by his employer's tirade. That would be fundamentally unprofessional, and extremely dangerous around a man like Delton Zane. Randall deserved his reputation as a top soldier of fortune from the United States. He knew Zane appreciated the particularly American way of doing anything for the right price, no questions asked. As long as Zane's price was right, and it was, Randall would play the second for now. Playing that part meant getting Zane to see the problem. 

Randall began, intent on spelling it out and keeping calm. "Mr. Zane, we've been watching the Hida kid for the last few days on the sly, and as far as we can tell he's never by himself. He walks to and from school, but is always escorted by at least two and as many as four other kids. We've never seen him outside his apartment building without that set of kids, and if he's not with them he's in school or at home. This kid doesn't wander off, doesn't run around, doesn't lose track of time. He apparently won't engage with people he doesn't know if he has no reason to, and he always seems to have some place to be. He's a very structured little boy. Getting at him would take at least some structure as well. That doesn't make a seemingly random grab feasible." 

"Oh, wonderful." Delton Zane's voice dripped sarcasm. "It's bad enough that my master enterprise requires the possession of a mewling nine year-old boy. No, what's more is the boy is a structured nine year-old. How marvelous for him!" 

Again, Raptor Randall levelly suggested his alternative. "Just let me put together a small black ops team Mr. Zane. We could hit one of the boy's familiar locations with a good probability that speed, intimidation, and discretion will leave little for the police to go on." 

Zane waved the suggestion away like swatting an annoying gnat. "No! An operation suggests financing. Financing suggests a financier with an interest in the Hida boy. I wanted this done before the locals were advised that there could be any connection between that child's disappearance and a larger purpose. I still want that. Let's just say that certain local business friends of mine would be much less friendly if my necessary practices were so noticeable. Find a way to make it seem like happenstance, and do it quickly! Is that clear Mr. Randall?" 

"Yes sir." Randall answered gruffly. The mercenary turned to go, but Zane couldn't resist one more jibe. Raptor stopped when he heard his employer's displeased sigh. 

"One other thing Mr. Randall. If you can't handle this I'll have to exercise a special personnel option. I'd be using a very special resource I'd like to save for other contingencies. Then, not only would I no longer have a use for you but a high degree of irritation would attach to the end of our working relationship. Try to avoid that, if you can manage, hmm." Zane smiled a sneer that Randall didn't turn to see before leaving the room. 

Raptor Randall spent the rest of the night reviewing what he knew and had learned of Cody Hida to prepare a way to get the boy that would please Zane. Meanwhile, Cody spent yet another quiet night in with his family and dutifully retired at bedtime to prepare for a new day of learning at school. The placid youngster naturally considered anything routine, structured, and peaceful to be normal. He dreamed gently pragmatic dreams that never imagined he might have spent his last normal night for a while, at least by his own standards. 

Cody's next morning started off as usual. He rose, groomed, and dressed. The boy enjoyed a breakfast that came complete with caring advisory statements from his Mom and sage words from Grandpa Hida. Cody expected and received a boisterous goodbye from Upamon between the Digimon's own breakfast and first morning nap. Upamon was always well-rested for afternoon action in the Digital World. Then it was time to meet Yolei, join up with TK, and get to school while contributing a little serious contemplation to the banter of his older Digidestined friends. 

At school the young Hida parted from the other Digidestined and wasted no time in getting to his homeroom. Cody enjoyed school. Though he dutifully observed all hallway rules the boy moved with a pace that reflected his atypical eagerness not just to learn, but to be formally educated by elders. Cody's sense of priorities often grated with his classmates' sense of fun and freedom. That was ... awkward at times. He was always nice and his peers weren't intentionally cruel. It was just a distance of mindsets, really. The youngster tried hard to understand and adjust when the other kids didn't understand him. After all. he was Cody Hida and they weren't. The mild little boy quietly shook off such potentially sad thoughts as he stored his things neatly and took his seat to wait patiently for his homeroom teacher to begin another worthy day of knowledge. 

The time for the first morning bell approached, and Cody began to wonder where the homeroom sensei might be. Then, just as the bell rang, the school principal walked into the classroom escorting a friendly looking, young woman who looked like she might belong in front of a class, but was definitely not the homeroom teacher. The noise made by most of the other children, which usually faded gradually in the presence of a teacher, stopped instantly under the bothered gaze of the principal. He nodded as if he had expected the abrupt silence before making an introduction. "Good morning class. Your regular homeroom teacher -- Mrs. Dugi -- was unexpectedly transferred to another school in our system before school this morning. I want you all to know that I'm looking into this because I don't like suddenly changing teachers that the students are used to, and who are used to our students. Nevertheless, this lady is here to replace Sensei Dugi-san for the time being. Her name is Kani Miro -- so that's Sensei Miro-san to you. I know you'll show her the respect she deserves as your homeroom teacher now." He turned to the newly appointed sensei and said, "They're all yours. Get them started today, and good luck." With that the principal turned and left with an appropriate somewhere-else-to-be manner. 

The new master of the room, Kani Miro, who was actually IMF agent Komi Nagamu, felt many small pair of eyes bore into her. Perhaps the most intense of those stares came from the green eyes of young Cody Hida. The boy's gaze was indeed different from most of the others. Most were looking for weakness. Cody was looking for worth. She wanted to start off in a way that would instantly win his respect. It was also necessary to take control of the room full of kids as soon as possible. "Hello class. I know it's awkward to suddenly have to deal with someone new, but I'm honored to have this opportunity. I'll take attendance now, because we don't want to get too far behind right at the start of the day. Please answer when I call your name." She made her way through the roll, and inflected the name of Cody Hida perfectly, brightly but as if she'd never heard or said it before. Komi Nagamu internally noted his reaction to Kani Miro. Judging from it, she knew that she had done what little might have been necessary to win Cody Hida over as a student, and that her initial assessment of him as a product of traditionalism had been on the money -- and then some. 

The undersized youngster responded with quiet enthusiasm and a respectful head bob unmistakably intended as a seated bow. "I'm here, Sensei." 

The substitute ran through a bland slate of morning announcements, then had a favor to ask of the group before they got on their way to their first period classes. She hoped they wouldn't mind shuffling the room's seating arrangement by reverse height -- with the shorter children up front -- because it just seemed like an interesting way for her to get to know them. The children eagerly accepted the chance for a change in routine, and made the requested shift. The real motivation was getting Cody Hida placed up front and center, away from the door and windows and buffered on every side. Still the ploy earned "Kani Miro" points with the entire homeroom. 

The bell for the first class period rang. As the children got up to go the new homeroom teacher sweetly asked Cody to stay behind for just a minute. Some of the other kids snickered things like "teacher's pet" under their breath while exiting. If Cody heard them, he didn't show it, and Komi got a feel for the different wavelength the lone boy operated on. When only Cody remained he stood before her with a respectfully mitigated look of expectation. He wanted to get to class, but wouldn't hurry her. "Can I help you Sensei Ms. Miro-san." His overreaching but genuine sense of formality made her smile. 

"Yes, Cody. I hope so," Sensei Miro-san began. "I asked the principal if it would be alright to have a student help me get adjusted to being a homeroom teacher here. He said that would be fine. Then I asked some of the other teachers who would be a reliable helper to choose from my new homeroom. Your name topped every list." The sudden blush on the boy's round face charmingly brought out the green of his wide eyes. She asked his help knowing he would not, and probably could not, refuse her. "Will you please help me Cody?" 

The youngster straightened and bowed. "Of course I will Sensei ... what do you want me to do?" 

"Well, how about spending your lunch period with me? I'm sure you can tell me a lot about the school and yourself, that way I'll feel like I really know someone here and that someone really knows me. How's that?" 

"I'd be honored to do that Sensei." Cody agreed, with minimal condition. "I usually have lunch with some friends ... they're not in our grade. I'll tell them about helping you so they won't feel I'm letting them down for lunch -- is that OK with you, Sensei?" 

"Sure, Cody. That's good of you." The nice new teacher observed. 

He smiled again but was still mindful of details. "Where should I find you at lunch Sensei Miro-san?" 

She returned his smile and said "Don't worry about that. I'll find you. Thanks, Cody." Before Cody could say she was welcome Komi Nagamu brought her left hand down firmly on his shoulder. It was a show of personal appreciation with a secret purpose. The child winced suddenly and reached to grip a spot she had touched. 

"Ow!" He finally had to grimace out. 

"What's the matter Cody?" Kani Miro asked with innocent concern. 

"Something ... stung there Sensei." Cody acknowledged. 

The new Sensei looked both apologetic and sympathetic. "Oh dear, I'm afraid that must have been my old class ring Cody. It has a worn place on the band. Sometimes it does "bite" people like that. I'm awfully sorry." 

"It's OK Sensei Miro-san. It was just unexpected." Cody noted with matter-of-fact bravado. "If that's all I guess I should get to my first period class before I'm late. He bowed briefly and started to go. "Goodbye Sensei Miro-san, see you later." 

She started walking too. "I'll go with you Cody, If you wind up being late I'll let your first period teacher know I was responsible for keeping you. Lead the way." 

The serious-looking nine year-old dutifully obliged, as they went he mildly began to assure her that she had been assigned to a very good school. Cody's polite, unassumingly unique manners almost made Komi Nagamu regret the ruse about the worn spot on a class ring. The ring had actually been barbed with a compressed hypodermic needle, and she had actually implanted a microdot tracking device just below the skin of Cody's right shoulder. It was a harmless mechanism that would eventually biodegrade. Yet, it would allow powerful satellites to inform the IMF team of Cody's location virtually any place on earth. The agent had only done her real job, but seeing the sudden flash of pain on the boy's already somber face had hurt her too. Komi Nagamu channeled that feeling into an intense dislike for anyone who would really try to harm this little boy. Even as her cover meant nodding and smiling while Cody Hida respectfully pointed out the features of the school building, she thought of Ethan Hunt. Nagamu had realized that Hunt would kill if necessary to protect this son of a man who had saved his life. The younger agent was beginning to feel that Hunt might have to stand in line, because she would do the same. 

Security at Cody's school was above average for an institution of its kind. Komi Nagamu knew this more from pouring over IMF briefing material than the pragmatic hall tour the boy could provide his newly befriended sensei. All the faculty and support staff were long-time employees, which is why her own arrival had been seen as such a disruption, but Kani Miro's credentials had been above reproach. Delton Zane had not infiltrated the school ... yet. Using a combination of the newly implanted tracer and incredibly discrete interrogation methods that passed for so much I'm-new-here-how's-my-homeroom small talk the young IMF agent kept tabs on Cody Hida classroom by classroom until the lunch period began. 

Cody was a obvious presence, even in the bustling cafeteria with lunch getting into full swing. All one generally had to do was look for a smaller boy purposefully gathering with a collection of older and taller children, and you had him. Personally, Komi Nagamu admired the youngster's sense of self that obviously told him who his real friends were in spite of what his age peers might make him feel odd about. From the IMF perspective, however, Nagamu wished Cody would lose himself in a more similar crowd. Of course, the boy didn't realize he was in particular danger. A little subtle but overeager do-good socialization on Kani Miro's part was needed to camouflage him in with other youngsters. Cody wouldn't be comfortable doing that, but he would comply out of respect. Her presence as an adult would be compensation, though. So would the satisfaction he'd get in continuing to meet her need for a dutiful host. All this in mind, Komi Nagamu approached Cody and his friends. "There you are Cody. See, I told you I'd find you." She began with a smile the helpful small boy really deserved. 

"Whoa, Cody's got a date." The goggled boy, Davis, asserted. Fortunately, the generally noisy condition of the cafeteria kept most from hearing him. 

Cody had not yet had a chance to fully explain why he wasn't taking a seat, much less to conduct the formal introductions he wanted to make. Davis' inclination to ignore protocols at will registered as a brief scowl on the nine year-old's face. Then the child matter-of-factly corrected the older boy with stern politeness born of assured rightness. It was a routine that the others with them seemed to expect. "Davis ... This is Sensei Ms. Miro-san. She's my new homeroom teacher for the time being," Cody noted with precise specificity. He turned to the adult and half-bowed, being careful with his lunch tray. "Hello, Sensei Miro-san. I hope you've enjoyed your day so far. Please meet my friends: Yolei, TK, Kari, and Davis." 

The bespectacled girl named Yolei effusively responded to Cody's mannered prompting "Nice to meet you Sensei Miro." The lanky teen's proud glance from the short boy to the out-of-sorts newcomer teacher he was helping confirmed every indication that she was Cody Hida's best friend, with a closeness of a familial bond. 

"Hi!," chorused both the other boy, TK, and the other girl, Kari. A classic preteen "couple", they looked at each other and shared a laugh about saying the same thing at the same time. This momentarily made Davis look ill. Yolei rolled her eyes a bit, but Cody took no notice of the group's novice romantic undertones. That was really the only sign of the younger boy's age disparity. 

Kani Miro continued to smile as she greeted them. "Hello, it's nice to meet you all too. I hope you don't mind me borrowing Cody during the lunch period today." 

The older children gazed at their youngest companion, who resisted blushing, and explained simply. "Uh ... yes Sensei. I was just beginning to tell them that you'd ask me to join you for the lunch to establish some familiarity with our grade and the school. Actually, it looks like there's enough room for us both right here with my friends. We could sit here." Cody's friends began to make the room he suggested, but the young woman declined. 

"That's a nice idea Cody," she began with sweet resolve, "but I think it would be a better influence for me to sit in the grouping of the grade I've been sent to teach. Now, I can tell that your friends here really like you and you really like them. I can see why too. Just for today, though, since you agreed to keep me company at lunch could we both please sit with over with the other third graders?" 

Cody looked nervously over at the casually disruptive cadre of kids that were his own classmates, then back to the gently expectant face of the well-meaning new teacher. He let go of a quiet sigh, but spoke respectfully. "Of course we can Sensei." The youngster took leave of his friends first. "I'll meet you all after school, OK? Sensei needs me." All the older kids told him it wasn't a problem, and encouraged him to go ahead with his lunchtime good deed. 

Yolei motioned to Sensei Miro to offer some advice. The woman leaned in and let the girl whisper to her with a quick stream of words. "Excuse me, Sensei Miro. Cody knows what you're up to. He's used to adults trying to get him to spend more time with kids his age. Please don't get me wrong. Cody will always be my best friend and part of our group, but a little broader circle would be good for him and he knows that too. Sometimes he's really stubborn, but he respects teachers so much that you can handle him. Oh, and Cody saying that you need him to help you instead of it being a duty to help you is a good sign. It means he likes you. Keep up the good work." 

Komi Nagamu smiled as Kani Miro. This kind of encouragement for a cover role was as refreshing as it was unusual on an IMF mission. "Thank you very much Yolei. I intend to. You're obviously a great friend. Don't worry about Cody, he's going to be just fine." The girl couldn't possibly know it, but the woman meant her assurance in its fullest extent. With that, she and Cody found seats among the third grade class. 

They took their chosen seats without speaking. Nagamu noted that the boy wasn't angry with her for making him sit away from people who accepted him. It was more like Cody was simply considering which protocols were now in order to make the best of things. The youngster waited for her to begin eating before self-consciously starting himself Cody ate with a pragmatism that would not waste even standard issue cafeteria food. The unwanted seating had raised tension he did not intend but couldn't help, so he did not express it. The secret agent had work to do. She'd gotten what she'd wanted so now she'd placate him a bit with a chance to focus on what was familiar for him. "You're not a free spirit, are you Cody?" 

He looked up at her with pondering green eyes and shook his head slowly side to side. "No, Sensei. I'm sorry." 

She reassured him. "Don't be sorry Cody. It's nothing wrong. I think everyone deserves to enjoy routines and traditions." 

The boy nodded and his face flickered the hint of a smile. "So do I Sensei Miro-san. My Grandpa Hida says that order and traditions make sense out of life." 

Kani Miro was delighted to hear that. "Your Grandpa must be a very wise man Cody." 

Cody's confirmation bordered on reverence. "He's the wisest Grandpa ever. I know lots of traditions thanks to him." 

"Really?" The teacher asked. "So school here isn't the only place you've learned things, eh?" 

The youngster's tone became more confident. "No, Sensei. Don't worry, I like learning here too. I try hard to put what school teaches together with the things Grandpa knows." 

The young woman nodded encouragingly. "Please tell me all about that Cody." By the end of the lunch period Kani Miro was back on very good terms with young Cody Hida, and had a confident grasp on the simply complex way the boy behaved, both consciously and not. By the end of the school day Komi Nagamu could offer Ethan Hunt an encouraging report. The IMF team had apparently succeeded in reaching Cody while Zane's plotting was in an operational lull. In fact, the youngster's atypical ways were probably serving him as a natural but temporary defense against being grabbed out in the open. Hunt had the very narrow window of opportunity he'd hoped for -- the time to make a move, IMF style. 

Not long after Nagamu was making her initial report, "Raptor" Randall presented Delton Zane with a new approach to securing possession of Cody Hida. 

"Mr. Zane, you noted an objection to a black ops strike as being too obviously focused on the Hida boy for specific reasons, correct?" Randall asked knowingly. 

"Yes." Zane snorted impatiently 

"You prefer an observably random cause for his disappearance?" 

Delton Zane angrily suspected Randall of enjoying the protracted style he was using. "You know that already Randall. Now enough with the sophistry and tell me what you have in mind." 

"I still suggest an operation, but one that blurs the focus so that its real objective -- taking the boy -- seems like a random, unfortunate disappearance ... among many." The mercenary saw interest grow on Zane's face. 

"Do go on Mr. Randall, I'm listening." Zane encouraged, now intrigued by the violent potential of what his man was telling him. 

Randall continued, pleased to be making progress. "It would happen someplace public, very public and crowded. Yet the location would not seem related to the Hida kid at all; not his school or his apartment building, someplace he just happened to be." 

"So what would the it be?" Delton Zane was a devil for details 

"Urban disaster," Raptor explained. "It could look like radical terrorism, catastrophic mechanical failure, or an act of nature, whatever it takes to seriously disrupt a crowded place. The trick will be seizing the boy while it's happening -- at the moment of greatest confusion. We might even seem to be his rescuers." 

Zane smiled broadly. "Ah ... leave it to you Americans to go bigger and better! Good, good. I approve Mr. Randall. I readily approve. The irony alone is worth the go ahead." Raptor reminded himself that charm from a calculating killer was just another deadly weapon. His employer seemed to be mulling a thought, then posed a question. "Tell me Mr. Randall ... have you chosen a potential location for this undertaking yet?" 

The American shook his head no. "That was pending your approval Mr. Zane. I'll make a selection ASAP now that I've got a green light. We'll bypass luring the kid. I'm thinking we can lure his mother to something that she'll bring the boy along for. The difficulty will be pinpointing him when it all breaks loose." 

"My dear Jace," Delton Zane offered casually. "Since you've solved the problem of approach, please let me solve those details. You start hand picking the men you want for the strike, make general preparations. I'll have your location set by morning -- with an absolute certainty that the brat will be there and that you'll be able to find him." 

The unexpected help made Randall nervous. He tried not to let that show in front of Zane, but the hairs on the back of Raptor's neck tingled. There was just the slightest pause of apprehension fronting his response. "Of course, sir. As a matter of operational viability may I ask how and why?" 

Zane treated Randall's wariness as a trifling between friends. "Oh, I have my ways and I have my reasons. I'll just say that what I have in mind will increase the irony of your scenario in a manner I will very much enjoy." 

A short time later three other members of the IMF team were settling in to one of Odaiba's largest hotels, deliberately chosen for being more showy than necessary. Paige Brooke made short work of securing their suite's phone lines and adapting them to the team's needs. Her work was perfectly timed for Norman Teller to take delivery of Komi's Nagamu's report from the Hida boy's school. Teller made studious sounds of comprehension as he listened, offered advice in turn, and even paused for a chuckle toward the end of the conversation. 

"How did Komi make out today?" Paige asked when Norman had finished. 

Teller smiled. "Quite well, it seems. She implanted the tracking device and believes the school remains secure. She also got a long way toward knowing the boy, psychologically speaking of course. He's apparently a little gentleman. I get the feeling Komi was thoroughly charmed." 

Brooke nodded with a trace of concern. "I hope she doesn't get overly attached. Kids can make missions really take a toll. Honestly, though I can't say I'd be any less endeared." 

Norman Teller both understood and mitigated. "I don't think you have to worry about Komi. She's young, but extremely well trained. Besides, she hasn't been active long enough not to put the mission first. You know how the younger agents are. I'm more concerned about Ethan myself. He's always intense, but this one has him on a fine edge. He hides it well -- all part of the job, of course." 

"Speaking of young agents, I wonder what's keeping Quint?" Brooke asked. "I know we drummed up some local radio and press for the arrival, and he played the singing idol bit to the hilt. Still, I asked him not to stay down in the lobby too long. We have work to do. Ethan's going to want preliminary analysis on possible Zane locations by the time he arrives. I've got the interfaces set up, so we'll be able to meta-search anything and everything Odaiba can tell us about itself. We should also have an approach for investigating the leads." 

She had just finished speaking and Teller was nodding when Quint Morgan sauntered into the suite. 

"I had to tear myself away." Morgan half-joked. "Things well in hand here? Has Komi reported in yet?" 

"Well," chided Paige, "I'm glad you haven't completely lost focus on the mission Quint." 

Quint flashed his best apologetic smile. "Sorry to seem distracted. I was just establishing my cover. You know you're beautiful when you're angry Paige." 

Teller attempted to calm them both. "There, point taken Paige. Yes, Quint, Komi reported a few minutes ago and she's on task." 

Morgan nodded, satisfied. "Great. Last question, when does Ethan arrive?" 

"Soon, within the hour." Brooke pressed the younger agent with urgency. "We need to establish our approach to finding Zane and the Eden Device beforehand. 

Quint Morgan made a motion with his hands like working a magic trick. "I've already taken care of that." 

"What?" exclaimed both Brooke and Teller, surprised. 

Morgan explained nonchalantly. "One of the men down in the lobby was the owner of Odaiba's largest radio station. He pitched a promotional appearance Saturday afternoon in the city's central shopping complex. I said yes. It was the only answer that suited my cover. 

Paige Brooke wasn't happy. "Quint, how could you just jump into a decision like that? I'm supposed to be handling you here. You should have referred him to me." 

Teller understood Brooke's ire, but he wanted Morgan to get to a point. "Hold on a minute Paige. How does this appearance help us locate the Eden Device?" 

Quint was glad to take the opportunity the other man provided. "If I remember the schematics correctly, the Eden Device uses sound; a focused sub-audio tone, pulsed in waves to keep its genetic material in an adjusted state of balance, right? 

"Well, yes." Norman Teller noted, both impressed and perplexed. He'd thought Morgan had been too involved in arguing with Hunt to pay that kind of attention to the weapon's schematics. 

"That's what I was counting on." Quint continued glibly. "I told them we'd bring in the sound equipment. I know you and Paige can rig up our own sub-pulse back through that huge radio antenna under my music. 

"That could work." Teller realized, "Our signal could interact with the tone emitted by the Eden Device to create an audible interference pattern." 

Paige picked up on Teller's line of thought. "That would cover a large part of the city, and the closer to the Eden Device, the louder the interference pattern." 

"Exactly!" Quint Morgan confirmed. That'll give Ethan the opportunity to zero in on Zane and do the basic hero thing." 

While Morgan, Brooke, and Teller discussed the younger man's proposal, Ethan Hunt arrived in Odaiba as an American reporter for one of those gaudy music magazines. He checked into a small, nondescript hotel that many casual Western tourists patronized. He settled in to his room and made himself conspicuous in the hotel bar, talking up his cover. Then he caught a cab to head over and "get the scoop" on the latest American singing sensation to reach Japan By the time he reached that much larger hotel and made his way up to the suite expecting him, the IMF team leader did have a story to get to the bottom of. It had little to do with music. 

Paige Brooke ushered him into the suite with a thin veneer of disdain maintaining the illusion of a disruptive interview begrudgingly granted. Paige waited until they were inside and a few steps from the door before talking freely. "We're secure here Ethan. Quint and Norman are here. Komi's at the apartment rented for her, as planned it's not far from where the boy lives. How was the trip?" 

"Oh, not bad. The flight was bumpy, and my hotel room's cramped. Same old same old." Ethan began mildly. Still, Brooke could tell he wanted to get to something on his mind in a hurry simply by the intensity Hunt showed in setting down his laptop and removing his sleek overcoat and uncharacteristically obscuring hat. He proved her right by quickly prefacing the topic that preoccupied him now. "The cab ride over here was actually very interesting. Would someone here mind telling me why I heard about a singing appearance by an American at a shopping complex this Saturday?" 

Paige reassured Hunt, but also knew where to direct responsibility. "Quint came up with a plan, but it's solid because Norman and I will ..." 

"Wait Paige," Hunt interrupted her. He seemed almost amused. "There's more. If I heard correctly on the radio any group of four or more kids ten years old or above qualifies for a vacation prize ... if they bring a child under ten with them. Now I'm wondering, since the child we're trying to protect is a nine year-old known to associate with a group of older children, is this part of Quint's plan too?" 

Suddenly the female agent was more agitated than Hunt "Quint has a little more explaining to do," she seethed. 

Hunt agreed. "No time like the present, I'd say." 

In spite of his irritation, Ethan Hunt waited until Komi Nagamu joined them via speaker phone before hearing what Morgan had to say. Morgan chaffed at the disapproval in Hunt's stare, but Hunt just kept staring. 

"Look, I can't help it if the radio station is going to promote my appearance with a crazy stunt like that," Morgan began. "Personally, I don't see the hang up it causes. Granted, the audience it will generate is close to a profile that might draw the Hida boy out, but out where? It's one of the most public environments in this town. He'd be with his older friends, not to mention a whole host of kids his own age all around him. Komi actually coaxed him into blending in like that at school today -- to protect him. Isn't that right Komi?" 

"Yes, that's true." Nagamu confirmed through the speaker phone. 

"There you go," Quint continued. He sounded more confident and assertive. "The radio promotion is just a coincidence, because it wouldn't make sense for Zane. On top of everything, young Cody will have three highly trained IMF agents nearby if Zane is stupid enough to try to pick the boy out of that kind of crowd. I know you consider Delton Zane some vaunted kind of enemy -- and he's certainly proved troublesome for you -- but try to maintain some perspective on that." Quint's tone became combative. "Maybe Zane has you spooked Ethan, but not the rest of us. If that's not it though, maybe you just don't like that I came up with the best plan for bringing your nemesis down." 

Ethan Hunt suddenly stood up from his seat. He looked angry, like a man forcibly restraining himself from taking Quint Morgan down a peg in more than verbal terms. Hunt took one step toward the younger man, but stopped. He spoke with a clenched edge to his voice. "It's not the place or time for this now. We'll go with your plan Quint, but only because I approve it. Starting now, everything about it gets checked with a thoroughness that makes regular IMF protocols seem lame. Is that clear?" 

Hunt directed the question only to Morgan, and Morgan replied with mocking respect. "Oh, crystal clear Ethan." 

Ethan Hunt didn't acknowledge Quint Morgan's response at all. "If tracking an interference pattern is going to work, then the performance will have to last. That mean's you've got to endure vocally Quint, and be liked enough to be listened to that long." The lead agent didn't wait for Morgan's egotistical assurances about himself. Instead, Hunt turned to Teller. "Norman, can you rig a microphone that will turn vocal tin to gold, no offense Quint, of course." The backhanded apology stung Morgan anyway. 

Norman Teller gave the question a couple of thoughtful blinks. "Sure, Ethan it's possible. I could work with Paige to texture the vocal sound waves through speakers to generate a low-grade, short term pleasing stimuli of the auditory nerves. 

Hunt nodded. "Good, do it. Quint, take my coat, hat, and laptop. There's a karaoke bar near Komi's apartment, you'll find the address in my coat's left pocket. Get over there and practice. Be relaxed, spend some money, and loosen up. Don't hide your cover. If anyone asks, just say you want an incognito time on the town. See if anyone else approaches you about the this coming appearance. Check in with Komi in two hours, but don't think you have to be back here before dawn." 

"Sounds like fun for a change," Quint Morgan observed. He was already donning the disguising apparel. The younger agent was leaving when he turned with one more comment for Hunt. "Ethan, I agree it's not the place or time, but you just say when and where, and I'll be ready to settle this between us." Then Quint left, pleased to have the last word by not affording Hunt the chance to respond. 

Hunt gave Morgan time to reach the elevators, then became the casually intense man that most of his IMF teams knew in privacy, much to the relief of Brooke and Teller. 

"Ethan," Paige Brooke began quietly, "I know what Quint said was infuriating, anyone would've been riled. I'm glad you pulled back, I wasn't looking forward to explaining a scuffle here in the room. 

Norman Teller agreed. "Yes, for a second there I thought you two were coming to blows." 

Hunt responded to the concerns of his colleagues with a burst of genuine laughter. "Let's just hope Quint was as convinced as you both were." 

"What's going on over there?" Komi asked this with a perplexed voice over the intercom. 

Ethan Hunt was working back into earnest seriousness. "I wanted Quint to be sure that we'd go forward with his plan without being suspicious of my approval. Now he thinks that I've approved begrudgingly, in a way that plays to my ego." 

Komi asked her next question carefully, a day at school with Cody Hida had rubbed off on her. "Ethan, isn't that true ... basically." 

Ethan made himself comfortable by sitting on one of the beds near Paige's speakerphone unit. "No, Komi, it's not. I just need Quint to be sure that it is. That may be our best advantage now." 

"I'm afraid I'm just not following what you mean now Ethan," Nagamu confessed. 

"You aren't the only one Komi." Brooke assured. 

"You'll have to explain it to all of us Ethan," Teller added. 

Hunt nodded. "I know, and I'm going to. First, Komi do you trust me?" 

The young agent's answer was unequivocal. "Yes, Ethan. Even if you weren't the team leader, I'd trust you with my life." 

Ethan Hunt smiled. "That means a lot right now Komi. Trust me when I tell you that Quint will be late with his check in call. When he is don't ask for an explanation and be accepting when he offers one. I want you to convince him that you aren't sure about my judgment as leader of this mission. I think I put him off guard, and only because he's getting sloppy. You have to reinforce his impression, and keep him off guard." . 

"I'll do it Ethan, and I trust you have some reason ... but why? Has the game suddenly changed?" Komi pleaded to know. 

"No, Komi, not really. The game just starting to play out the way it was always really set up." Hunt confided. 

"Now you've really got to tell us what's going on Ethan," Paige pressed. 

"Just hold out another minute Paige." Ethan turned to Teller again. "Norman, I trust the face maker made it through customs?" 

"Like they never knew it was there," Norman confirmed wryly. 

"Great. I'll be paying a visit to the Hidas this evening. While Komi's soothing Quint, I'll need you and Paige to help me work with Cody at the safe house later tonight." When his remaining team reacted to the suddenness of Hunt's play for the boy, he re-gripped their attention with stark silence. "There are never coincidences in this line of work, never. Now, all of you listen carefully ..." 


	4. The Child Gambit

Mission: Impossible -- The Hida Factor

[AN: This was a complex part of the story to craft. I needed the IMF team to achieve certain objectives in an IMF way that reached into science fiction, but didn't read like pure fantasy. More than once I found myself saying, "How do I do that?" In writing terms that translates to, "How do I describe that happens for the reader?" I hope you like the solutions I created. I certainly put Cody through a lot, but his character holds up so well in unusual situations. Thanks to my beta reader "Timp" for really good points along the way. Thanks also to my preview readers "Opus J" and "Code" for being so effusively supportive of the story as I write. If you think this chapter is creative, the next chapters are only going to be that much more so to depict what I have in store for Cody and company. Enjoy! -- BM] 

Chapter 4: The Child Gambit

Two and a half hours after the afternoon briefing session at the hotel, as Thursday dusk settled across Odaiba, Ethan Hunt stood at the door of the Hida's apartment. Of course, he wasn't being Ethan Hunt at the time. He presented himself as Jonu Sozi. Simple stories stayed the straightest, and Sozi's story was a simple one. He was an often displaced, youngish, Japanese businessman who spent most of his time overseeing operations in the United States. He only made it to Odaiba occasionally, the last visit coming almost four years earlier. Still, he remembered the kindness of a police officer named Hiroki Hida who had bravely stopped thugs from making off with a carelessly placed wallet. Now back in Odaiba, Sozi had looked up the Hida's telephone number -- still in Hiroki's name -- to request a chance to drop by and express his thanks once again. Of course, he'd had the good form to call ahead. Sadly, Jonu Sozi was informed of Hiroki Hida's passing. Sozi still asked to come by, if only to pay his respects to the family. That such a visit, though unexpected, would be honorably welcomed came as no great surprise to Ethan Hunt. 

The real heart of his disguise was not the flawless polymer mask and gloves that perfectly replicated the look and feel of human skin in Japanese features. It wasn't the wafer thin vox patch under the neck of the mask that would add a distinctive but non-specific accent to the Japanese that Hunt spoke fluently. No, the key to the Sozi persona was the well-traveled business suit he wore. Clothes often made the man to others and this suit conveyed the sense of a slightly rushed man squeezing a kindness into his schedule at the end of the day, a man who could use the attention of hospitality himself. 

The senior Mr. Hida welcomed the visitor into the apartment. The elder man had an unassumingly proud aura about him, and bore his age extremely well. Mr. Hida also noted that visits from people helped by his son Hiroki were not unprecedented, but not so recently, and it was pleasant to be reminded of Hiroki's service to others. Jonu Sozi was invited to view the small shrine dedicated to Hiroki. Ethan Hunt knew and executed the appropriate memorial rituals, but he could not have matched the sense of presence with the fallen officer that played out on Mr. Hida's face in view of the shrine. The two men turned from the shrine, only to find Minako Hida watching their observances. 

She was tall and fair. Long black hair framed a still-young face with its own set of green eyes that were compelling. No doubt about it, Mrs. Minako Hida remained an attractive woman, though the emphasis of her own presentation now was clearly efficient maternity rather than attractiveness. It looked like Minako hadn't smiled much in the past few years. Still, she brightly ushered them into the living room, offering Jonu a comfortable chair which he accepted before she and Mr. Hida sat down. 

There were a few minutes of polite conversation. The Hidas asked Mr. Sozi discretely about his line of work, which he described as sending and receiving in industrial technology. Mrs. Hida noted how admirable it was to see someone dedicated to traveling for a job. Sozi smiled kindly and sympathetically replied that it couldn't be any harder than going to work as widowed homemaker. Minako thanked Jonu for saying so, but insisted she had a lot of help -- from both the elder Mr. Hida and her young son Cody. Sozi was glad to learn that Hiroki Hida had been a father and wondered if he might meet the boy. The young mother nodded proudly then went to fetch her son, who was finishing up homework in his room. 

Minako Hida returned quickly followed by Cody. The youngster's dark hair and green eyes favored his mother. Behind the guise of Jonu Sozi, Ethan Hunt could tell that she had also passed on her capacities for pragmatism and efficiency to the boy just from the way they came down the hall together. Cody came and stood before the visiting man, offering a formal bow and a pleasant greeting. 

"Hello, My name is Cody. I'm very glad to meet you sir," The boy said. He had his mother's eyes but it was the purposeful, satisfied look on the small face that triggered Hunt's visual memories of Hiroki Hida. It presented a child doing what was right because the child wanted to do it. 

Mr. Jonu Sozi smiled at Master Cody Hida with as much energy as Ethan Hunt could lend while still perfectly in cover. "I'm very glad to meet you too, Cody. It's an honor to be met by such good manners." 

"Good manners are one of the most important things a man can have." Cody was stating a fact. The declaration had the familiarity of being said often but retained the sincerest conviction of belief. The boy continued after some moments of thought, "We are honored by your visit Mr. Sozi-san. I'm glad my Dad helped you." 

Sozi acknowledged the small boy's courtesy, impressed. Hunt had expected pressing questions for details about a father's heroics, even reminders of what the living man had been like. Instead, the young Hida paid tribute to the visitor's kindness while holding his father's service as a given. The child remained completely and unobtrusively polite. Yet, Cody's deference made offering him details about Hiroki Hida that much more sympathetic and inviting. The young boy was certainly that clever, but the nine year-old's restraint was genuine and careful, not intended to manipulate. 

"It's good you know the reason I'm visiting Cody. Your Dad was a very brave man to help me the way he did, he was a real lifesaver." It was as honest as Hunt could be at the time, and the praise had a deeper meaning to the boy that met with unexpected emotional resonance 

"Yes, I know he was. Thank you for ... saying so ..." Cody started his reply with a fortitude that no boy, even one with his self-control, could or should have to maintain for long. Hunt saw the glisten of tears barely form in the boy's eyes when polite dignity compelled the youngster to turn away "... Excuse me sir." 

The boy's shoulders started to shake, then instantly tensed with purpose. Cody's clenched his hands at his sides, as if he were arguing a point. Hunt watched both Cody and the adult Hidas go through this: Cody enduring a sudden swell of sadness, his family watching with compassion but letting the boy handle it his way. There was only one way Jonu Sozi should react, and it was simpler than the way he actually felt about sensitizing Cody's emotions. "I'm sorry Cody. I didn't mean to upset you." Mr. Sozi-san stood to leave. "I should be going. I'm probably delaying you're dinnertime as it is." 

Cody responded quickly, intently. "Please don't go because of me Mr. Sozi-san. I'm alright, really." 

The apparent businessman was ready to frame a benign excuse about scheduling for the youngster's sake when Minako Hida aided her son's insistence, as if on cue. "Yes, Mr. Sozi, no need to rush off at all. Cody knows you weren't meaning to hurt him. As far as dinner goes, why not stay and eat with us? I'm sure I can offer you better meal than hotel room service." 

"That's a very nice offer Mrs. Hida. I don't think my palate would forgive a refusal, if it's not too much trouble." 

Mrs. Hida insisted. "It's no trouble at all Mr. Sozi." 

The slightly jaded visitor smiled. "OK, Thank you. Please, all of you call me Jonu." 

"Then please call me Minako, Jonu." The young woman reciprocated pleasantly. "I've actually got dinner nearly ready. Cody, would you please show Jonu around while I finish and Grandpa sets the table?" 

"Yes Mom, of course." Cody agreed. The boy wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. His Mom, though a very nice Mom, had rarely invited anyone but Yolei to eat with them in the last few years. Yet, she was asking Mr. Sozi to stay for dinner after less than half an hour of acquaintance. Cody decided not to worry about it. There had to be reasons, and surely they were pragmatic ones. The youngster also believed he had bothered the nice man by becoming momentarily upset about Dad. His mother's cooking was a more than adequate way to make up for that. 

Ethan Hunt could not have asked for more complete recon of the apartment than the tour conducted by Cody Hida for Jonu Sozi. The youngster led the man efficiently through the home in a room by room progression. There were really just the three bedrooms to see, but the showing reflected enough consideration to bring the guest to the boy's room last, so Cody could bide the remaining time until dinner as host on his most familiar ground. Ethan Hunt noticed that Cody took and maintained a position between himself and the room's closet. The kid must have something "top secret" in there -- or so Hunt supposed. At any rate, Cody didn't need to worry about that privacy being invaded, but even this more typically young action told Hunt that Cody Hida knew that sometimes secrets were worth protecting. 

Sozi offered small sounds of appreciative comprehension replying to the boy's otherwise innocently forthcoming descriptions. Hunt was amusingly thinking about what a challenging IMF training simulation the situation would make in accomplishing what he was really doing as Cody showed him around. Placing things by slight of hand was a stock in trade for IMF agents, but doing so in the near presence of a child took real skill. Children were naturally more observant than adults, and Cody especially so. Adults also tended to look up, so the usual tendency and methodology was to hide down. That wasn't plausible here, given Cody's physical stature. Still, Ethan Hunt managed nicely. Jonu-san found interesting pieces of furniture or fixtures in each bedroom -- interesting and tall -- that just had to be examined more closely. Each time he left behind something small that went unseen by the boy. Only once did Cody mention the interesting way that Jonu-san liked to reach out and touch things that caught his attention. The visitor agreed in amusement and asked Cody if he knew what the word "tactile" meant. The youngster easily rattled off the correct definition. The delighted businessman admitted he had always been that way and liked to get the feel of things sometimes. Minako Hida called them both to dinner before Cody could ask more about that. 

As Cody and the disguised Ethan Hunt made their way from the boy's room to the table, they heard the telephone ring in the living room. The youngster was summoned to the phone to take the call, from his friend Yolei, so he excused himself briefly to speak with her. Outwardly, Jonu Sozi was complimenting the meal that Minako Hida was on the verge of outdoing herself preparing. Inwardly though, Ethan Hunt concentrated on listening to Cody's side of the phone conversation. The IMF agent had a strong idea about the topic of the sudden call. Judging by what the boy had to say, it did not take long to confirm what was being discussed. 

"Just slow down please Yolei. ... Where did you hear this? ... That seems like a really strange thing to do, are you sure it's credible? ... Just because they announce it over and over again doesn't make it so. Huh? How many of you want to go? ... Well, it is very nice that you got elected to ask me personally Yolei. I appreciate that, really. ... How many people do they expect to be there? That many? Isn't Saturday the mall's busiest day anyway Yolei? ... Yes, I guess it does sound like I'm not interested in going. I'm sorry, but I'm going to help Mom around here then -- and it just doesn't seem like my idea of a good time ... Well, if you do get the others to make a list of reasons I should change my mind I'll listen -- but after dinner, OK? OK, bye Yolei." Cody hung up the phone shaking his head sideways and sighing. The boy apologized for delaying dinner as he joined the family and guest at the table. 

Hunt wasn't the only one who had been listening to Cody's exchanges. Minako Hida wondered about what her son was declining. She asked him about it as if she was simply curious, not worried about what he might say. "Was Yolei inviting you somewhere, dear?" 

"Sort of, Mom," Cody acknowledged in monotone. He explained quickly, not minding that she was asking -- after all she was an adult and his Mom, he just didn't want her to worry about it. "She heard about some radio station that's having a strange promotion at the mall Saturday. Apparently, if groups of older kids bring a younger kid with them they all qualify for a prize. My computer club friends wanted me to go so they'd qualify." 

Grandpa Hida spoke up, "You're not going to participate with your club?" 

The boy chose to clarify, but prefaced his reply with an almost imperceptible glance in Jonu Sozi's direction. Cody was making sure their guest was not bothered by the unexpected openness of this topic. "It's not a regular club activity Grandpa. I'd never pass those up, I promise. I'm already helping Mom sort through the lower cabinets on Saturday afternoon. I need to do that, and I'd rather do that." 

Minako Hida tried not to sigh. She was very grateful for Cody's dutiful help most times. Then there were times like these when her son used his sense of duty as a shield to guard against public situations that might feel awkward or sad. Cody clearly believed that the act of helping justified missing the spontaneity of socializing, especially where helping was certain and familiar and socializing was awkward and potentially sad. Teaching him to consider more flexible approaches to both needed to be such a gentle process, if only to counter the harsh realities that had effected him so early in life. "Cody, those cabinets can wait. I don't mind if you go down to the mall with your friends Saturday." 

"Thanks Mom, but the cabinets don't have to wait. I've set aside the time for them and I'm the one who's the right size to get things out from all the way back in them. There will be plenty of people at the mall Saturday without me. I'm sure there will be lots of kids with lots of moms ... and lots of dads. It's not a problem." The silence that Cody faded into was a subject-ender. His elders would not press him further, especially in front of company. 

Ethan Hunt watched the little family discourse play out from behind his facade of Sozi. Given the high probability that Cody would at least be contacted about the promotion at the mall, Hunt had asked Komi Nagamu to predict the boy's initial response. Hunt was mentally attributing points to the young psychologist because the child had reacted exactly as she'd believed -- he'd said no, and wasn't going. Still, seeing the emotion that Cody Hida obviously felt while trying so hard to maintain control brought the IMF agent to a moment of questioning the next phase of the mission. 

Why not leave this sullen little boy alone and find a way to thwart Delton Zane where all the Hidas would never have to know was happening? Hunt took a moment to re-evaluate his plan, already in motion. He was assessing the boy too. True, Cody Hida hurt inside because he was nine years old and his father had been taken from him tragically. Yet, Cody didn't give in to the sadness without a fight. Even if he was stoic more than he smiled, the youngster still smiled more than he cried. Cody was strong that way, and brave. The boy's sense of justice was almost a thirst. Coming events were going to be dangerous for him any way that they came down. Hunt would not let anything happen to Cody, but the IMF team leader could give the child an opportunity to know something he deserved to know, facts that Cody was hopefully ready to know: exactly what had happened to his Dad and why. 

Settled on the course of action, it was time for Jonu Sozi to extend an invitation of his own. "You know, it must be good fortune that you mention the mall and Saturday. I have to check on some product distribution in area electronic stores. I'll be at the mall here Saturday doing just that. I'd be honored if you'd all come join me for a late lunch. Cody can be with his friends for that event, then I'll come find you. It's the least I can do to repay the kindness of this dinner." 

Minako Hida reacted like her guest had turned on the lights in a room long darkened. "Oh? That's really very nice Jonu, but it's really not necessary to have to ..." 

"Please Minako," Jonu-san pleaded with charming insistence. "It would be my pleasure. This solves your problem Cody. There's no need to clean out kitchen cabinets when your Mom's not going to be in the kitchen, huh?" 

"Well ... no. There wouldn't be Jonu-san. It's very nice of you to offer." Ethan Hunt noted that the boy's expression was a mixture of stoicism and confusion. He was instinctively reacting with polite deference but Cody wasn't overjoyed with the man's suggestion. 

Grandpa Hida, with his mysterious wisdom, declined for himself. "I'm sorry, but I cannot attend. I'm leading a meditation group at the Senior Center Saturday afternoon. However, it sounds like a fine time for you and Cody, Daughter. Go and enjoy yourself." 

Minako smiled, looking very happy and sounding even happier. "I haven't been out ... to the mall ... in ages. I can't say I really need to go, but if it means Cody can spend time with friends who want him around, that's reason enough isn't it?" She turned to Cody specifically. "You can call Yolei after dinner and tell her things are worked out, can't you sweetheart?" 

This was not a permission, this was a hopeful request that told the boy she wanted and needed his permission instead -- permission to have a good time outside their home. What else could a dutifully loving son do? Cody agreed. "Of course I can Mom. Jonu-san, it looks like we accept. Thank you very much." 

"Wonderful!" Jonu Sozi exclaimed. He raised his glass in a casual toast "Here's to Saturday." Minako Hida clinked glasses with his and, after a half moment of hesitation, Cody reached to bring his own glass between their two. 

Hunt knew that it was making Cody uneasy to learn that the engaging Jonu Sozi could show up and charm the boy's mother, getting her to smile like she was now. The Hidas were close, and the one gap in their lives was still a binding presence. The youngster doubtlessly believed that he and his grandfather were all that his mother needed in her life, because all they had were each other. Such thoughts were the natural product of a determined, pragmatic, and nine year-old mind which knew great loss too soon. To his credit, the small boy hid tension between himself and adults well. Dinner proceeded and finished pleasantly. Jonu-san stayed just long enough for Cody to call his older friend up and discretely explain that he could, in fact, be at the mall early Saturday afternoon. Then, bemoaning paperwork that just couldn't wait any longer, Jonu Sozi bid his new friends good night and left. Sozi was off to do work, but Ethan Hunt had other things to do. He would watch the Hida apartment from a safe vantage point. He would wait for signs that the Hidas had retired to their rooms for the night. When they did the IMF team now had an in to make its next move undisturbed. 

As evening progressed into night, the Hida family took to their beds in an orderly, sequential fashion. First Cody's light darkened, then his mother's, and finally the grandfather's. Hunt was patient. He gave them another 15 minutes to hopefully settle in and get comfortable. Then the IMF team leader pulled a thin control console, that might have passed for any sleek business calculator, from the breast pocket of his rumpled suit. He entered three separate sequences of numbers into it and pressed the triggering button. Inside the three bedrooms of the Hida apartment, the three tiny capsules of a substance IMF liked to call anesthefog began to diffuse instantly into the air. The gaseous chemical was strong enough to put any breathing thing in the apartment out in a deep sleep for as long as 24 hours if necessary. However, the fog had benign properties too. It reacted with individual physiologies to ensure that no one, regardless of age or size, was sedated longer than a full day. Hunt checked his watch. Once released, the fog reached full potency in thirty seconds. It evaporated in traceless dissipation in exactly five minutes, allowing you plenty of time to work with whoever was under its effects. At the three minute mark Hunt touched a recessed button on his watch that signaled Norman Teller and Paige Brooke that it was time to move in and pick up Cody. 

The three agents rendezvoused in the alley behind the apartment building. They unloaded a small amount of equipment from a black rental car that no records would ever indicate being rented. Working quietly, Hunt, Teller and Brooke donned three special jet packs. These were specially designed for rapid, controlled ascents and descents with whisper quiet precision. They were beyond state-of-the-art as standard issue, but Hunt had chosen the fully loaded models for the task at hand. Each of these jet packs projected holographic shield around its user rendering the wearer virtually invisible to anyone who just happened to be looking for in-flight invaders. When the team members were ready Hunt nodded for lift off. They landed on the roof and moved through shadows to the side of the building overlooking the Hida balcony terrace, which they descended to flawlessly. 

The security alarm on the sliding door -- and of course the home of a police family with a young child would have one -- proved no match for Paige Brooke's technical skills, and they gained entry quickly. Hunt indicated the elder Hida's room to Teller and Minako's to Brooke. While they went to check the status of the sedated adults, Hunt went for Cody. The first task in each room was placing a new chemical capsule where the old had been. That done, Hunt turned his attention to the child. The boy was in his bed, obviously deeply asleep. He looked so calm and relaxed in sleep that he actually seemed younger than he was, just the opposite of his waking impression. The IMF agent standing over him sincerely hoped the youngster was dreaming well as he threw back Cody's blankets. The boy's breathing was steady, and his pulse strong -- no problems. Ethan Hunt lifted Cody gently, it took surprisingly little effort. The man carried the boy out of his room and into the living, where the other agents met them. There were no troubles reported for the adult Hidas, the op was clicking beautifully. Hunt set Cody down on the soft carpet and Paige Brooke quickly began to prep the boy for departure. Ethan noted that Paige worked with her usual quick efficiency, but saw the addition of an undeniably maternal smile on her face. Cody Hida just seemed to effect good people that way. 

Brooke zipped Cody into a perfectly sized, insulated jumpsuit with attached footings right over his pajamas. It matched the ones they wore. She sat the boy up and securely harnessed him into a fourth jetpack. This unit differed in only two ways from the packs the team members had on. First, it was child-sized. Second, its controls were bypassed; programmed to mimic the operation of Hunt's on a five second delay. Now the group of four exited the apartment, with Teller supporting Cody long enough for Brooke to reactivate the alarm system on the sliding door. She joined her colleague in supporting the boy until Hunt lifted off. Cody followed by remote control. It might have been an exciting ride if the little boy wasn't sound asleep for it. They sailed easily over the building altogether to descend into the alley. Hunt caught Cody finishing his descent and waited for the other two to land. The jetpacks were removed and stored, Cody was placed comfortably in the back seat of the car under the watchful attention of Brooke while Teller took the front passenger seat. Hunt briefly scanned the alley in all directions, then got behind the wheel to casually drive them all to a waiting IMF safe house. They had come and gone like ghosts, IMF always did. 

A half hour later Cody stirred hesitantly in unfamiliar surroundings. Sensations came first. His right shoulder tingled with small, brief sharpness. Then he felt something being drawn away from over his nose and mouth. Even before the youngster could pry his eyes open he knew that something was wrong. He did not feel like he was lying in his own bed or that the darkness around him was anything like his own room. Genuinely frightened, he tried to sit up suddenly -- and got really dizzy. Swift hands steadied him, then got him to lie back on the bed that wasn't his. Closing his eyes again made him feel physically better, but the youngster actually felt like crying. What was going on? Whatever was happening to him now wasn't at home, wasn't safe, and definitely wasn't good. Cody couldn't help trembling. The boy didn't want to show fear to whoever had him, so he gripped at the blanket around him trying to ward off cold that was more inside than out. A reassuring voice spoke calmly, "Just take it easy Cody. You're going to wake up now, but nice and slowly. It's been a busy night for you already." 

Cody knew that voice, but had no idea why he was hearing it now, "Jonu-san?" The boy's throat felt a little dry, and his question seemed quieter than even he usually wanted. There were quick exchanges from other adult voices and Cody decided to listen before trying to speak again. 

"Sorry about the side effects young man, but we needed you really asleep and now we need you alert. The stuff we're using to wake you up early is a little rough for children," advised another man in Japanese that sounded like an American speaking it. 

A pleasant-sounding woman spoke too, in more American-sounding Japanese. "You need some water Cody? Don't try to answer, I'll just bring you some." 

"You don't have to listen for more voices Cody." Jonu Sozi advised knowingly, "It's just the three of us and you here. Paige, please bring the lights up slowly, no more hiding for now." 

"Sure Ethan, coming up," the woman called Paige confirmed." The lights in the small, sparse room brightened gradually. When the lady finished adjusting the dial-like light switch, she left to get the water she'd promised. The increased lighting, though gently done, still overwhelmed Cody's eyes. They wanted to stay closed, so the boy sat up and rubbed them. He caught a glimpse of a studious looking man pushing what appeared to be a gas tank to the far side of the windowless room. A thin hose and small mask dangled from the tank, that must be what was used to revive him. 

The man Cody heard as his new acquaintance Jonu Sozi had just been called "Ethan", so the little boy made sure to look in Jonu-san's direction as soon his own eyes would agree to stay open. He only meant to look but the boy had to stare wide-eyed. The man sounded exactly like Jonu Sozi, but was a rugged-looking American rather than a Japanese man. This confusing man reached up and peeled some kind of clear square off his own throat. Now his Japanese took on an American sound too. "That's better. Cody I know you're curious and scared right now. Don't be afraid of us. I'll answer all your questions as best I can. Let's start with the most obvious one. I was playing Jonu Sozi in your home tonight, but my name is Ethan Hunt. We're in Japan to help you. You're here to learn why and how we're going to do it. Then you're going straight home." 

Cody Hida considered what the man told him, and mentally reached past being scared to become mildly indignant. "So what you're saying Mr. whoever-you-are, is that you lied to me and my family tonight, then you somehow managed to kidnap me, and all because you're trying to help me? There's no reason why I should believe you at all. I want to go straight home now ... please." The boy's throat was still dry, lending an edge to the raspy matter-of-factness of his voice. The lady returned with a pitcher and two clear cups. She set these on the small table near Cody, then poured water into both cups. She drank from one cup first, then handed the small boy its twin. He knew the fact that she was pretty didn't mean she could be trusted, and her toasting gesture showed she didn't expect him to rely on her kindness without proof. Cody drank the cool water down and handed the cup back to the lady. "Thank you," the youngster offered with a slight nod which was as near a bow as he'd be giving anyone for a while because he wasn't happy. The politeness he showed the woman purposely contrasted with the resonating anger he directed at the man who now called himself Hunt. "I want to go home!" The boy's demand was moister now, but no less firm. 

Hunt drew up a chair by the bedside, sitting in it seriously, It was time to lay matters on the line for the young Hida. "Cody, We'll get you home, but there are some hard things you need to understand first. If we take you home right now, we won't be able to help you like we need to. That means one of two things. People who want to use you like a battery for a terrible weapon will either get you Saturday at the mall, or they'll finally try taking you from your school or home. I don't think they'll care enough to leave your family sleeping peacefully so you won't be missed. They certainly won't worry about giving you back, because you won't be coming back. When they grab you, a lot of people including ones you know and love will be hurt, or worse. If they succeed in using you like they want then a lot more people will die." Hunt had remained calm, but gained the child's riveted attention. The end was going to be rough, but it would convince the honor-motivated boy that he couldn't just be left alone. "Now, do you want to know what you can do to stop all that, or do you just want to go home?" 

The people helping Hunt were displeased to hear him try such a harsh tone with Cody, and they slipped back into English to tell him so. However, the boy they had away from home, and completely alone wasn't about to break down. Cody Hida just sat where he was, staring at Ethan Hunt with a mixture of defiance and consideration. "I think I might want to do both, if that's the right thing to do. How could anyone use me like a battery, and why would they need to?" 

Cody's response showed promise, but Hunt mentally checked his own enthusiasm. "You don't completely believe us yet, but you're listening. Both are good signs." 

"Well, It's a pretty far-fetched thing to tell me to just be making it up. If you were ones who wanted to hurt me you could have done it by now, without waking me up, and I suppose you still could. Yet, you didn't and you aren't. However, I asked you a question and I'm waiting for an answer ... please." The highly sensible boy was cutting right to the important questions and, though Cody didn't know it yet, the most difficult for him to hear answered. 

Ethan Hunt said what he had to say, "It all has to do with your Dad, Cody, and things that happened the night he died. I'm going to tell you all about that night. Are you ready to hear it?" 

The man's revelation shook the youngster's composure. He gasped and looked blankly distant for moments while the paradox of the offer hit home. It was everything that Cody wanted to know, and everything he didn't at the same time. This was a need that not even saving the Digital World could recompense. He'd waited three years, a full third of his life, for this moment. It might be as terrible as it was necessary, but justice demanded that he know it all. "I've heard and done things too soon a lot in my life and I've just had to to deal with that. I'll do it again. Please tell me what you know ... what you really know about my Dad." 

Ethan Hunt sighed in a mixture of tension and relief. He was reaching Cody, but what a way to do it. "My friends are Paige Brooke, the water-bearer, and Norman Teller, your sandman for the night. I think they'll be kind enough to give us some privacy for a little while. The colleague agents excused themselves. Before leaving the room the woman quickly told Cody that he'd be fine and not to worry about Hunt. 

There was a palpable moment of silence when Hunt and Cody were alone. It was charged with energy as the man and boy continued to contemplate each other. The intensity of Cody's anticipating stare told Ethan Hunt to skip any preliminary let's-be-buddies small talk, and just get to it. "First of all, you can be sure of everything you know to be true about your Dad, Cody. Even in the brief time that I saw him working, I could tell he was a fine police officer. He must have been an even better man -- brave and heroic. He did die saving a life. Your Dad didn't know it, but it was my life he saved." The IMF agent paused. Cody hadn't broken eye contact, hadn't even flinched. Was the kid going catatonic straining to hold himself together? "You still listening Cody? Are you OK?" The boy offered two shallow nods. Hunt momentarily considered bringing the medically-trained Teller back in to at least monitor the child's breathing and heart rate. However, the young Hida was urgently waiting for more. Ethan decided that continuing just might be better for the boy in the long run. "Three years ago I was aboard a plane, pretending to be Japanese, like I pretended to be Jonu Sozi tonight ..." 

So it began, Ethan Hunt offered a simplified explanation of the Eden Device, and emphasized the evil Delton Zane would do with it. Then Hunt detailed every moment of Hiroki Hida's final hour for Cody. When it came time to relate the murderous effects of the mysterious second gunshot, the agent grasped at mitigating the emotional impact -- saying that it was over instantly and that the boy's father never suffered. The IMF agent could see this was cold comfort in the way Cody visibly shook as he listened. The green of the youngster's eyes blazed brighter even as his face grew paler and his jaw clenched hard against building quivers. Still the boy's stare was relentless, demanding more from Hunt. It was as though any pause hurt him just as badly as the revelation itself. Hunt, admitted to using the fallen officer's DNA to effectively scramble the Eden Device. He described this posthumous donation as a much more noble service to humanity than even saving a single life. Finally, Cody learned that the man named Delton Zane now had the machine he should never have, and needed that part of Cody coming from his Dad to make it a weapon again. 

When Ethan Hunt finished he could only wish for the silence that had prefaced this strange briefing. Instead, while Cody was sitting with his knees hugged tight to his chest, the sounds of the boy's short, ragged breaths ebbed and flowed to the corners of the room. The agent wondered if he really had gone too far with this child. Every seething breath issuing from Cody now was a battle between the boy's own sense of control and the powerful emotions of anger, grief, and fear. The small boy seemed determined to absorb it all without reacting. That genuinely worried Hunt because doing so suddenly under intense pressure put the youngster's whole psyche at risk of snapping. The IMF team leader realized that he couldn't tell if he'd ultimately empowered Cody to respond to the legacy of his father's sacrifice, or set a nine year-old boy on a course for psychological disability. For the first time in a very long time Ethan Hunt was unnerved. "I'm going to ask the others to come back in, Cody." Hunt related. The man, already trying to think of contingencies, turned from the boy to the room's door. Then it happened. Cody Hida started to cry with a wail like the breaking of glass. Wave after wave of despair echoed off the walls with no sign of letup. It was uncontrolled, it was very un-Hida like, it was normal. Now Hunt knew that Cody ultimately was going to be fine, provided IMF could deliver him from Zane. 

Comforting children was not Hunt's forte, but he approached Cody ready to try. The youngster stopped him short with a tear-choked plead. "No! Please ... just leave ... me alone right now!" This was all Cody could manage before he was racked with more inconsolable sobs. 

There was still Cody's role in the coming countermove against Zane to discuss, but Hunt knew to back off and give the kid a break. "Sure Cody. You work it out." The agent exited and closed the door, giving the boy the short-term privacy he needed. 

Hunt, Teller, and Brooke waited just outside the room listening for Cody's crying to subside. Ethan kept them from doing more with the simple comment that it was Cody's time, and the youngster was going to get all they could spare him. Quiet came sooner than expected. As Hunt led the others back into the room the IMF agents saw the boy sitting cross-legged on the room's bed. Cody was meditating. The youngster's face was still tear-streaked and red around the eyes. One or two more sobbing breaths escaped him before he steadied his breathing. Cody continued to compose himself, but he was aware of no longer being alone. He was calm again, and seeing that calmed those around him, just like usual. "I'm ... I'm alright now. What do you want me to do Mr. Hunt-san? If going to the mall on Saturday is so dangerous for me why did you invite my family there then?" 

Ethan Hunt inwardly winced at both the delivery and righteous pragmatism of the small boy's questions. Being called Hunt-san was nothing but a formality of child-to-adult communication from Cody now. The respect the boy had extended to Jonu Sozi was gone; withdrawn as undeserved. "The mall is where Zane's men are planning to get you Cody. That radio promotion is just an elaborate trap, sort of a big net for younger kids who know older kids. I've made it seem like I'm getting you there for it anyway to draw the bad guys out and stop them By now, Delton Zane knows that I'm going to let you be there. That being the case, we'll need to do something different. I need to know if you'll agree to what I'm about to suggest, or if it's just a better idea to work around you." 

"What about all the other people, and my friends and my Mom? I'll do what has to be done, I mean the best that I can Mr. Hunt-san, but I can't let anything to happen to anybody else because of me." Cody was insistent. 

Hunt looked squarely at the boy. "I know my word must not seem like much to you right now Cody, but I give you my word that your Mom, your friends, and the bystanders will be safe by the time Zane's men make their move." 

The young Hida had more about his mother in mind, and his strong sense of devotion for her overrode any hesitation of discretion toward the adults with him now. "Mr. Hunt-san, did you like my Mom?" 

The studious man with Hunt looked in Hunt's direction, very curious, so was the woman. She actually had to stifle a giggle. For just a split second, Ethan Hunt looked caught for a right thing to say, "Cody I think your Mom is a very nice woman ..." the agent began. 

"I mean like special, did you special like her when you were being Jonu Sozi?" the small boy pressed. 

"Cody, why are you asking me that?" Hunt asked quickly. Cody wasn't the only one who could be pragmatic. when necessary. 

The youngster got to his point. "I thought you special liked her, and I think my Mom thought so to. You have to honor her idea that you like her because ... because I want you to. I'm not saying its a condition for my helping, That wouldn't be right. Only you can't just be that friendly and then do nothing else. It would hurt Mom's feelings." 

Hunt caught a breath, and sat done on the side of the bed near Cody. "Well, I wouldn't want to hurt her feelings Cody, but what exactly are you suggesting?" 

The boy shrugged after some thought. "I don't know, I'm only nine. Maybe Jonu-san can send her a card or some flowers just for having a nice time at dinner. Does special liking someone work like that?" Cody's ability to be innocent without childishness was striking. 

"A little like that ..." Hunt related, while trying to stare down the growing amusement of Teller and Brooke. "Post-mission contact isn't exactly protocol but I think something can be arranged." 

"OK." The small boy noted with the formality of a negotiator. The man's answer pleased him, but Cody wouldn't allow himself to smile because the whole situation was far too serious for that. "Now if this man Zane knows about Saturday at the mall how do we get away and get that machine away from him?" 

The IMF team leader firmly stated what there was no easy way to say. "Cody, our best chance to destroy the Eden Device is by not getting away from Zane." The man saw worried confusion storm across the child's round face, and he wasn't the only one. Paige and Norman had the capacities to suspect what Ethan was beginning to suggest, and Hunt could see they didn't like where he was heading. "Trust me." Hunt said generally, and then specifically to Cody, "I know I'm asking for faith on this, but I'm not going to let Zane harm you. If you rely on that like a fact, you and your family will never have to worry about Zane or the Eden Device ever again." If Komi Nagamu was right about Cody Hida, then Ethan Hunt had just pressed all the motivating buttons the kid had. "Will you hear me out now?" Hunt asked. 

The boy remained thoughtfully silent for a moment more. Then he nodded solemnly, "Please go ahead and tell me Mr. Hunt-san, I'll try very hard to understand." 

Ethan Hunt launched into the details of his risky plan to beat Delton Zane. There were only a few times that Cody Hida had to ask for a simpler way of seeing what his part in that plan entailed. The lady named Paige Brooke was very helpful in summing it up as "playing it straight until it's time not to", though the youngster could tell she wasn't exactly thrilled by what Hunt was asking of the boy. There was no denying the solid logic of it though, Cody could do the big thing that Hunt could not because of Zane's potential for arrogance regarding the helplessness of a child. It was a very big responsibility for a young boy, but Cody had to accept it. After all, this was about his family: the death of his father, the safety of his Mom and Grandpa, and his own peace of mind. These thoughts prompted a very serious question. "Mr. Hunt-san, will you show me the man who ... killed my Dad?" 

Hunt answered with a question of his own. "Are you thinking of revenge Cody? Is that why you want to see the man?" 

Cody answered with obvious effort to think through his words. "I try hard not to lie. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about revenge, but that's not what I really want anymore. I just want that man to see me. He killed my Dad but he didn't destroy him. Everything that was good and right about my Dad is part of me now, at least I hope so. That man won't understand something like that, but I'll show him it's true anyway." 

Hunt leaned in close to Cody. "Then, yes. You'll see the man who killed your Dad." The boy responded with a confidential nod. 

When everything was meticulously explained and meticulously understood. Hunt asked Brooke to make Cody comfortable and snug in the bed again. They were going to take him home, and that meant going back into a deep sleep. Teller retrieved a different gas tank, transferring the mask and hose to it, then bringing it bedside. Always in touch with at least some nine year-old realities, Cody expressed concern that he wouldn't be well-rested for school in the morning. Teller advised him not to worry. This time the sleeping gas was mixed with another gas that made every hour of sleep as restful as two. Cody also learned there were evaporating capsules waiting at his home that would shorten the effect of the sleeping gas on the whole Hida family, but Cody would not feel unusually tired. Satisfied with that information, Cody allowed the mask on his face again. Hunt had one more base to cover before letting Teller turn the gas on. 

"Cody, I know you understand, but I need to hear you promise you won't try to tell any other person about this -- not even if you think it protects them. You promise?" Hunt insisted. 

Cody nodded in agreement, and his answer sounded through the closeness of the mask. "I won't tell any other human being Mr. Hunt-san, I promise." 

Hunt actually smiled, wondering why Cody was being so specific, but then again it was the boy's style. Teller activated the gas and Cody peacefully succumbed to slumber. 

Brooke would begin to get Cody ready to leave while Hunt and Teller would start to clear the safe house. Then they would all see Cody home in precisely the reverse of his abduction. Hunt shifted them into high gear. "Let's get moving. We've got a lot to do before Saturday, so many promises to keep now. First, let's get Hiroki Hida's son home where he belongs." The three IMF agents set to work while Cody Hida slept the sleep of the just and innocent. 

. 


	5. Preparations

Mission Impossible: The Hida Factor

[AN: I certainly didn't realize that the way to build a following for a story was not posting on it in a long while, and yet I've seen impatience for this chapter manifested in reviews. I wish I could say that sitting at my computer and writing about Cody Hida was all I needed to do, but unfortunately, it is just an enjoyable distraction I can only make time for when I can. Now about the story itself. Structurally this chapter is about turning a corner between exposition and action. As a writer, I think such transitions are the best time to delve into characterization and character interaction. That's what I attempt here even as hy position the action of my plot to hit hyper speed. Thanks to my beta reader "Timp" and contributing readers "Opus J" and "Code". Enjoy this until the next installment -- BM} 

Chapter 5: Preparations

After his extremely unusual and emotionally wrenching night, Cody Hida's first sight upon opening his eyes to the light of Friday morning was his mother at his bedside. It was a relief that overwhelmed the boy's typical reserve as he sprang up and hugged her, declaring her welcome presence with a near shout of, "Mom!"

Minako Hida enjoyed the hug, even if she didn't quite know what to make of it. She looked at Cody with mild surprise after gently lifting him away from her. In fact, though, doing so actually made Cody shake a little, like he was ... afraid of something. With this slight concern she tried to pleasantly pry just a bit. "My goodness, Cody. I'm sorry if I startled you sweetheart, but if hugs are how you react to being startled in the mornings I'll take my chances. Is anything the matter?"

Cody managed not to look away from his Mom as he quickly thought about the best way to be both honest and careful in answering her. "Nothing's wrong right now Mom. I was surprised to see you here in my room just as I woke up. Is Grandpa Hida alright, I mean is he up already like he usually is?" So far so good, two immediately factual statements and a question that might change the subject.

Mrs. Hida relaxed a little and smiled. "Grandpa's just fine Cody, and yes he's up and out on his morning walk." However, her reason for being there related to her concern and she wasn't finished assessing her son just yet. "I know I must have surprised you dear, but you seemed to be waking up pretty restlessly, like you were having a bad dream. You must have had a rough night, huh?"

Cody nodded honestly. "Practically a nightmare." He knew he couldn't leave it at that so he quickly added, "I was a little worried that you might have had to wake me up, that I'd overslept. Have I?"

His Mom laughed. "Not at all, honey. Look at your alarm clock. It's not due to go off for another half an hour. I'm sorry you had that unpleasant dream. Why don't you get more sleep then. I can always drive you to school."

That was a tempting offer. Although the youngster felt rested he didn't feel secure, and more time in his own bed with his Mom nearby would fix that. Yet, he knew that not sticking closely to his routine might shake Mr. Hunt-san's confidence in him, and worse, might make the evil Zane act prematurely. He had to decline his Mom's comforting suggestion with polite firmness for everybody's sake. "No thanks, Mom. Believe me I've had all the sleep I want for right now. I'll just get a head start on getting ready for school. Don't worry."

Minako sighed, Cody seemed OK now but she did place a well-meaning condition over his insistence. "I'm glad your so earnest Cody, but I do want you to at least wait for your alarm to ring before you get up out of bed, Understand?" Her son dutifully agreed. After a pause of consideration Mrs. Hida broached what she believed to be a problematic subject for the boy. "I think I know what probably troubled your sleep dear."

"Oh?" Cody asked, trying not to sound defensive.

The mother lightly brushed soothingly through her son's short hair. "I think it was Mr. Sozi's visit yesterday." Seeing Cody go a little pale made her think she was right. "Sweetheart, I know I acted a little less like a Mom when Jonu-san was here, but please try to understand that it was just so ... nice to have a person around my age to talk to last night. He really seemed ... interested in me, and that made me happy Cody. It also made me happy that you changed your mind about going to the mall on Saturday when Jonu-san invited us. That was both polite and considerate. We'll talk a lot more about this kind of thing when you're older, but I think I needed to do a better job of assuring you that nothing, nothing ever, will change how I feel about your Dad. I mean I think I could like Jonu-san as a friend, but I love your Dad, and I can't love anyone anymore than I love him or you." She hugged Cody warmly, and finished with an intimate urgency. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that we do have to go on living, and I know your Dad would want us to do that, so I'm going to try to be happy more often, and that's all this friendship with Jonu-san is about. OK?"

Cody Hida summed up with loving esteem, "OK, Mom. Of course you can be happy. I'll try very hard to understand the things that make you happy."

Minako laughed gratefully, stood up and kissed her son's forehead. "Well one of those things is that you don't grow up too fast on me. I'll get breakfast started in a bit, but remember stay put until that alarm goes off. Then you can get ready for school." He nodded again as she left his room and closed the door. 

Just moments after the door was safely closed Upamon bounded happily down from the closet. Cody appreciated that his Digimon partner was giving discrete quiet his best effort until reaching the bed. Though the boy could hear small gasps of excitement exhaled with every bounce, the youngster didn't mind that this particular morning because Cody was very glad to see Upamon was both undiscovered and unharmed. The Digimon's greeting was euphoric, as usual, and the little yellow being seemed rewarded when Cody's hugging reception was more openly affectionate than normal for him. "Oh boy, good morning Cody! Did you sleep well? I sure did. I think it was the great food you saved me from the dinner your Mom fixed with your new friend Mr. Sozi-san here last night. He must have been really nice to --." Upamon quickly stopped his stream of words and looked at his human partner with sudden concern. Part of being a Digidestined's partner was an ability to "tune in" to your partner's feelings. Upamon could tell that his young human was very troubled, even before he saw the sad shadow that clouded the child's typically assured expression. That was very out of place on such a bright, beautiful morning. "What's wrong Cody? Tell me." 

"Upamon you're the only one I can tell about this because of a very careful promise I had to make. Last night I learned that everyone I know is in terrible danger just by being around me, and that includes you too. There's a reason you slept so soundly all of last night, and why I didn't. That Mr. Sozi-san wasn't what or who he seemed to be. He might be still be good, because he kept a promise to bring me home, but I'm not sure about nice. Cody saw confusion in the Digimon's black eyes, and Upamon could quickly turn confusion into agitation. The youngster steadied himself so he could better focus his friend, and continued before Upamon overloaded with more questions. "Please Upamon, just listen ..." 

By the time Cody finished revealing his frightening nighttime ordeal, Upamon was very literally hopping mad. The Digimon's fast, angry bounces drubbed Cody's bed for the audacity of the man Cody now knew as Ethan Hunt. Upamon's greatest fury and maddest pounces came with thoughts of the man Delton Zane and his evil intentions toward Cody. The little yellow Digimon was also upset with himself, feeling he had let Cody down and knowing how hard the youngster always tried not to let that happen himself. "Gee Cody, I'm really sorry. I'm never going to sleep again, not even when I'm Armadillomon, if that's what it takes to protect you from now on!" 

Cody reached out to hold Upamon firmly at mid-bounce. There would be no such blaming, not by him and not by Upamon either. "I appreciate your concern Upamon. It really does make me feel safer right now. Still, there was nothing anybody could do about last night: not you, or Grandpa, or Mom ... and not me. I don't think that not sleeping would be the right thing to do. You really enjoy sleeping as Armadillomon, and I know you wake up ready for action when I need you in the Digital World. I think what I'm trying to say is that right now I'm OK Upamon." Cody did feel better, Upamon knew it. The sad cloud was gone from his round face and his voice reclaimed its familiar matter-of- fact quality. "I felt very helpless a lot last night, but I'm going to get up today and not be helpless. Saving the Digital World has proven the importance of just doing my part. Mr. Hunt-san has his plan, and I have my part in that. If I do that ... when I do that, we'll all be safe, in the real world at least." 

Upamon was both very proud and very worried about Cody's strong conviction. The Digimon would net let his young partner go through this new challenge alone. "Gosh Cody, that Mr. Hunt-san's plan sounds really, really, really dangerous. You've got to let me come with you. I can hide in your backpack, and I'll be your secret weapon." 

Cody's initial reaction to the offer was an instinctive "No." Yet, the boy knew his partner meant well, so Cody tried to rationalize his refusal. "Look, Upamon, I'm honored by your loyalty and dedication, but I cannot ask you to risk yourself in the real world. As far as we know right now, you can't even become Armadillomon here. It would be too dangerous for you." 

"No more dangerous than for a nine year-old human boy." Upamon pointed out. "Cody, just because I haven't Digivolved in the real world doesn't mean it's impossible. I'm sure if you needed any of my higher forms, I could do it. I'd make myself do it, I promise! Besides that, I'm not letting you say no this time." 

"Upamon ... " Cody didn't want to be stern with his friend, not this morning. The small boy never got the chance because the Digimon sternly insisted with unsubtle coercion. 

"I'm serious Cody. You're going to let me go or I'm going to tell the other Digidestined and Digimon as soon as I can. I haven't promised not to yet ... but I will if you promise to keep me with you Saturday. Please don't be angry either, because I don't just want to help you, I need to help you. It's what I'm all about, so don't be stubborn. I'd just out-stubborn you this time. I'm going and that's final! 

At first Cody was angry with being forced into another unwanted promise. Then he looked long and hard into his partner's deep black eyes and saw them reflect his own determination to overcome this threat to his household. It was the determination of a warrior. That could not be honorably refused. "OK Upamon ... I promise that I will keep you with me Saturday." The boy suddenly felt relieved and less burdened by his impending task. He needed to express the solemn depth of his gratitude for that so he added. "Thanks, Upamon." 

The Digimon became innocently effusive again. "No problem, Cody. How do we get ready for Saturday then?" Cody's alarm clock buzzed, as if answering Upamon's question. 

Cody quickly shut the alarm off and got out of bed He responded by repeating what the lady named Paige Brooke had told him. "We play it straight until it's time not to. That means I've got to get ready for school now, and soon we both get breakfast." 

About the time that Cody Hida began to get ready for school Friday morning, Komi Nagamu was meeting with Ethan Hunt for coffee near his hotel room. It was a little coffee shop, and crowded, the kind of place that generated just enough noise to ensure that nobody tuned into the gist of particular conversations. Komi was primly, but youthfully dressed for another day as substitute teacher Kani Miro. Ethan had bypassed all but a little sleep to join her so early, but this was important. 

They met to exchange information about the previous night. The younger agent reported that Quint Morgan had indeed been late checking in with her -- by nearly forty-five minutes. He finally called from the karaoke bar he'd been directed to for building up his cover. Morgan blamed the delay on an enthusiastic reception for his performances there by the locals, and Nagamu never challenged him on it. As instructed, Komi expressed the slightest worry about Ethan's judgment on the mission. Quint all too easily mentioned that she should be concerned because Ethan was unfortunately slipping, obviously frustrated by Delton Zane. Morgan noted that it was going to be up to the rest of the team to achieve the mission objectives, as demonstrated by his own initiative in agreeing to the radio promotion as a conduit for finding the Eden Device. That had been all from Morgan until he returned to the posh hotel suite well after Ethan Hunt had supposedly gone, and the other IMF team members had retired for the night. 

Ethan nodded through the details of Komi's account. It confirmed that Morgan fully believed Hunt had begrudgingly lost operational control here, leaving good old Quint to pick up the pieces. That would work. The IMF team leader drank some of his strong coffee, and found the energy he needed to realize that Komi was about to tell him how tired he looked. Fortunately, he brought up the one subject that would instantly take her mind off him. "Your insights were a big help in dealing with the boy last night ... interested in the details?" 

Nagamu's face brightened away from sterner concentration. "Oh yes, Ethan. I'll bet Cody was a real challenge." 

"That's putting it mildly which, considering his demeanor, seems appropriate." Hunt acknowledged with a flash of humor. He described everything from the levity of Jonu Sozi's dinner with the Hida family to the gravity of confronting Cody with truths, realities, and risks at the safe house. "I don't think I've ever been more thoroughly judged in my life. Yet, after all that we did to get him there and everything I had to tell him, I think he believed me, and that he might have started believing in me too. There was this look in his eyes when I explained what I needed him to do. It was accepting and ... fierce." 

Nagamu's smile lightened some thoughtful analysis. "Cody's knack for consideration seems to be remarkably developed. There are a lot of reasons for that, especially the influence of his grandfather and probably a degree of uncertainty about the permanence of situations as they relate to him. He wants to be careful, certain, and most of all Cody Hida wants to be morally right. Like most nine year-olds, he has the natural tendency to see everything as black or white, good or evil. I'm sure he now considers you to be good and Delton Zane evil, getting him home as promised probably confirmed that much for him." Komi paused just long enough to see that Hunt invited and expected her thinking to become advice. "He'll fiercely try the best he can to do right things, and now that encompasses your plan. Do what you can to keep the mistakes he can make to a minimum. At that age mistakes equal not good, which for Cody, equals morally wrong. Also, be careful of the ethical lines you cross in his presence and any you might expect him to cross in helping you." 

Ethan Hunt was impressed with Komi Nagamu's observations, and even more impressed with her poise and professionalism. Hunt knew the missions he led had earned reputations as "glamour gigs" and "career makers" within IMF, if such things existed for a shadow organization. Komi wasn't phased at all, she was doing the job not swayed by the legendary charm and drive of Ethan Hunt. He held in an ego-deflating wince. Of course, charm and attraction between men and women were always part of both IMF missions and team dynamics. That invariably became less true as team leaders matured into father figures. The impressive, young Komi Nagamu was a reality check for Hunt. She was transitioning Ethan into the father figure type before he was ready. Well, so be it. "Anything else Komi?" There wasn't a trace of disappointment in his voice. 

"Yes Ethan, two things actually." Nagamu noted as she began to gather her things to go. "Cody's on my watch when he's at school today, so go back to your room and get some rest while you can. I bet you've slept less than an hour since you returned him." 

"Guilty as charged Komi." Hunt admitted without elaborating, and without letting her chide either. "What's the other thing?" 

There might have been a twinkle in her eye, or maybe not. "I just wanted to say thank you for confidence you've shown in me on this one Ethan, and thanks for not trying to play it like some father figure for me. You're still far too attractive for that. I'll call in after school on Paige's secure line. Oh, and thanks for getting the check here, teacher's salary you know." She was gone before he could say another word. Nothing like getting the day started off right. 

Ethan Hunt took Komi Nagamu's advice and went back to his small hotel room for the little rest he needed. By the time the agent actually got to sleep, Cody Hida was beginning his trek to school with Yolei and TK. The youngster had more mixed feelings about this morning's walk than usual. Lately, certainly since his becoming a Digidestined, the mornings traveling to school had become very practical lessons in both teamwork and friendship for Cody. After all, there was no friend who knew him better than Yolei and the smaller boy saw complexities beyond TK's genuine friendliness that needed to be understood, or at least Cody thought so. 

The only problem with being known so well by Yolei and wanting to know TK better was that it required letting them honestly know Cody Hida too. Today that really was a big problem. If they suspected that something was bothering their younger friend both would seek to coax it out of him for discussion with well-meant intensity. That would be as much of a battle as any kendo match with his Grandpa, and be two against one. If it came to that, it would be a contest the youngster knew he'd have to win. Cody could not and would not resort to the casual duplicity employed by Mr. Hunt-san to lie to his friends. He did have time on his side, though. Just keep moving and they'd all get to school that much sooner and part ways for the majority of the day. Cody had that plan, unfortunately he'd invoked silence and determined concentration to formulate it. That, along with the even extra speed which he wanted to get to school led both his older friends to wonder if their smaller companion was upset. Like it or not, the battle, one of wills among friends, began. 

"You're even quieter than usual this morning Cody," Yolei stated obviously. "What's the matter?" The question was a typical opening gambit from the lanky girl. She wasn't guessing that something might be wrong, somehow she knew there was. The direct approach, or frontal assault, as Cody thought of it, was her way of "suggesting" that the small boy start talking right away. 

The best way to deal with a frontal assault was to deflect it as if it were no concern. "I'm just thinking Yolei. We're on the way to school, so thinking seems appropriate," Cody noted with even toned matter-of-factness. It was a good parry. He was thinking and they were going to school. If Yolei assumed he was thinking about going to school -- or just about anything else, it would simply be her unforced error. 

Yolei got a knowing look on her face and reached for a partially incorrect conclusion, "I know, you're not happy that we'll have you over at the mall Saturday afternoon, huh?. Her guess related to the premise of the radio promotion that Cody now knew was a ploy. Yet, it was the perfect direction to let Yolei go off on if she wished. All Cody had to do was stay quiet in response to her question. Silence was one of his strong points. 

She pounced on her chosen subject, believing it to be the source of her young best friend's current somberness. "You know Cody, we wouldn't ask you to do something that we really didn't feel was going to be good for you too. I think this will be great for you. You'll see there's nothing wrong with just hanging out sometimes, even as part of a crowd. We're young and when we've taken care of the things that need to be taken care of we don't always have to look for something else to take care of. Having fun is actually expected every now and then when you're young. Besides Cody, you're younger than all of us so you get to have the most fun. I'm going to see to it personally!" She offered this enthusiastically, with a wide smile for his benefit. 

Cody responded with a soft-spoken "OK Yolei, thank you very much." He didn't say it firmly enough to stop her talking though, which was something she continued to do as TK slowed down ahead of them helping the conversing pair to catch up to him. The smaller boy recognized TK was going to take a turn at getting him to talk about any pressing worry. 

The taller boy's wide, casual smile prefaced his efforts as usual. "Sure Cody, Saturday's going to be fun. Since our group is going to be the combined Digidestined it wouldn't be the same without you. I'm glad you're OK with it, but is going really what's on your mind? There's got to be something. You're not just quieter today, you look troubled. 

Cody sighed, trying not to frown. TK's perceptions were like a feigning swipe over the head that lulled you about missing completely just before landing to the body. The worst thing about it was getting Yolei keyed up again. Now she agreed that Cody did look troubled and she wanted to know why. TK continued to be benignly unhelpful by expressing his hope that the smaller boy would share concerns out of friendship. They were getting close to the school, but the youngster's need to withhold his drastic problem weighted his steps. He had to say something to explain. Cody owed these good friends that much. Yet, what could he tell them that would not break his promise to Mr. Hunt-san, while recognizing their caring, and most importantly ease their minds enough to leave him alone? For one of the few times in his young life, thinking was making Cody Hida's head ache. The small boy stopped walking and both Yolei and TK followed suit in expectation. Their young companion was on the verge of generally admitting to some dread as carefully as possible, when the call of a warm and friendly voice meant he might not have to do so. 

"Cody? Oh Cody, you don't know how glad I am to see you right now." It was his nice substitute homeroom teacher, Kani Miro, rapidly approaching the three young people. 

"Hello, Sensei." Cody offered simply with a respectful bow when she got to where they were. "Did I forget about helping you with something? Were you looking for me? " The youngster silently noted that the presence of a teacher had quashed the interrogation Yolei and TK had set their minds to. 

"Yes, Cody. Forgive me for interrupting time with your friends, but I'm trying to put up a new bulletin board display in our classroom, and I could really use an extra pair of hands and some keen eyes. I've been told you usually come in early, so I took a chance that I could come out and recruit you. Will you come help me, please?" The beleaguered substitute pleaded breathlessly. She turned to the youngster's older friends. "You don't mind do you? Yolei and TK, right? The older boy and girl nodded. 

"No problem." TK offered with a smile that was nearly as polite as one of Cody's bows 

"Perfecto! He's been a little moody this morning," Yolei revealed good naturedly, ignoring Cody's lightest scowl. "I know helping you will make him happier Sensei Miro-san, so go for it." 

"Of course I'll help you Sensei." Cody added for himself so the teacher would not have to ask again. 

"Great, thanks so much all of you." Sensei Miro-san responded with a relieved smile. "Ready then Cody?" 

"Just one thing Sensei, please." the small boy requested. He turned and bowed to his companions, saying basically what Komi Nagamu had thought she was helping him avoid. "You both are very good friends, and I appreciate your concern. I've got to deal with something that I didn't expect soon. Nothing's wrong with my family and it has nothing to do with ... our computer club. Believe me when I say that I'm dealing with this thing. I mean that in every sense of the word deal, so I'm fine. " Cody sighed, and summoned something like a smile. You said we'll have a good time Saturday afternoon, I'll hold you to that then, OK?" The tall pair nodded, too surprised to do anything else. "Thank you very much for understanding, it means a lot to me." Cody acknowledged and turned back to his newest teacher. "OK Sensei, lead the way." Within the role of Kani Miro, Komi Nagamu was impressed to the point of amusement. Apparently, Cody Hida wouldn't take an easy way out of difficult situations, even when one presented itself. Ethan Hunt definitely had a like mind here. It was cute, and a concern worth mentioning to Hunt later. 

The teacher and student walked away with purpose. Yolei and TK watched them in silence before they could verbally react. "What just happened here?" TK finally wondered out loud. 

"I think we've just been told to butt out -- in the nicest, most polite way possible." Yolei determined for them. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, thinking about the one person they knew who would even try to pull that off -- much less succeed. Then they both laughed and got going for their own homerooms. Cody Hida heard their familiar laughs before he entered the school building with Kani Miro. The advantage was his, for now. 

As Cody enjoyed assisting his teacher with bulletin board construction, Jace Randall was initiating the plan to acquire the boy through some controlled destruction at the Odaiba Mall. Falling out of favor with Delton Zane was deadly, but his favor was almost as frightening. Zane had embraced Randall's idea for the incidental abduction of Cody Hida so completely that he readily provided everything Randall requested for the operation, and then some. The explosive, for example, were originally far too powerful for the shaped charges that Randall wanted. The idea was to bring down just enough of the structure to cause a general panic, secure the child during the confusion, and then impede pursuit. 

Zane was truly disappointed when his chief mercenary opted for a sense of catastrophe rather than true mayhem. "Mr. Randall," he offered with the mocking patronage of a career counselor. "you must not let precision stand in the way of some creative flare in our line of work. It's not really done right unless somebody dies! You'd do well to remember that. If your being squeamish is what it takes to keep the one brat I want alive for delivery, so be it. I have to remember that being boring can be effective, but you get no points for style." He finished with the cold laughter of a self-amusing joke. 

Randall nodded without comment, focusing on the details of the strike until his employer lost interest in baiting him. So what if Zane was a sadistic lunatic? It didn't matter. People didn't pay the Raptor to do what he did, in the amounts he required, if they were saints and sane. The fate of this Hida kid didn't matter either. That was just part of the job. The job and the money, that's what mattered to Randall. Doing the job brought in the cash. The better it was done, the more cash from each job and the more likely to grab the attention of people who'd pay that kind of money for doing what they wanted done. "Mr. Zane, the men are all set. Was the mall management grateful for the advance notice of the surprise structural integrity inspection?" 

This time Delton Zane's ironic chuckle was welcome. "Oh yes, very much so. You'll have no trouble with them and you'll get all the access you need." 

The Raptor relaxed slightly, glad to have put their exchanges back on the business at hand, and determined to keep them there. "Good. By tomorrow afternoon I'll have the Hida boy here for you." 

Zane leaned forward at his desk. He placed his palms together in expectation. Randall watched as his employer pulsated his fingers back and forth like the deliberate stalking of spider's legs. It was creepy. "Do that Mr. Randall. Believe it or not, you've impressed me overall. I think a small bonus is due you with delivery. I imagine an extra 50,000 of your dollars will suffice as a gratuity." 

The mercenary took the large figure in stride. "It will do. Thank you Mr. Zane. I'll report to you as soon as we're through at the mall later today." There was nothing more to say, so Randall headed out of Zane's study to put the first phase of the capture plan into action. 

When the American was gone Delton Zane mused to himself, "Yes, Mr. Randall. You are so very professional and completely deserving of both fee and bonus. What a pity that you'll never live to spend any of it. Oh well, such are the absurdities when I determine who lives, who dies, and who will be blamed." 

Late Friday morning became early Friday afternoon, and Cody Hida settled at a table in his school's cafeteria to enjoy lunch with his friends. The youngster was grateful that the school day thus far had been so normal. He had Sensei Miro-san to thank for that. She was much more comfortable today and had settled both herself and her homeroom into the school's routine right from the opening bell. True, the new Sensei now seemed to be fond of being around Cody, but that was just because of her newness and his helpfulness. Besides, the placid child was as openly friendly with many of his teachers as he was with a handful of the older students. Nothing about Sensei Miro-san's attentions created any more tension between Cody and his classmates than already existed, there just wasn't anything unusual about it. 

The Lunch period brought Cody under the protective scrutiny of Yolei and TK again, and they had probably alerted both Kari and Davis to finding out if anything was wrong with their youngest teammate. Fortunately, Cody had now dedicated his thoughts almost entirely to efficient scholastic conduct, and that sort of masked the outward signs of his earlier concerns. It was like the danger facing him tomorrow was a scheduled medical appointment. It wasn't to be looked forward to, but it was coming and necessary to go through, so it was no longer good to worry about it ahead of time. Cody didn't exactly look relaxed, but he never looked completely relaxed. He just didn't look as unhappy as he might have this morning, and that put all his friends at ease during lunch. The small boy had an extra advantage too. Today, Sensei Miro-san did join the new Digidestined for lunch, at the youngster's invitation. 

The young teacher was engaging and charming with all the children. A teacher for Cody, some girlish small talk for Yolei and Kari, athletic admiration for Davis, and good humor for TK. There was only once when the group, Cody included, became hesitant in their conversation. That was when Kani Miro asked about the doings of their informal computer club. It was Sensei Miro-san that asked, but it was Komi Nagamu that really wanted to know. Yesterday, she had watched these kids gather after school at Cody's apartment building with overly full backpacks. They certainly wouldn't meet in the Hida apartment. That would've been too invasive for Cody to request of his family. Yolei and TK lived in the same building though, providing more obvious venues for their club. It had been the one time during the day that the microdot tracker she'd implanted in Cody's shoulder hadn't provided a solid readout. Data had indicated that the tracking signal was still steadily coming from the apartment building, but very faintly. It was almost as if that signal was suddenly coming across vast distances while being relayed back through Cody's known location. Komi had almost intervened, but there had been no disturbance from or around the apartment building at all, and the signal returned to full strength at exactly the same time the computer club meeting ended. Then she had physically seen Cody come out of the building with TK and Yolei, bowing goodbye to Davis and Kari. The little fellow promptly returned to his own apartment, and stayed there until Ethan and the others removed him to the safe house. The undercover agent processed all that into Kani Miro's innocent question, "I'll bet you all must have some cool equipment for your computer club, huh?" 

"You bet ... it's cool, especially the --" Davis started to describe braggingly, but stopped suddenly when he saw the sharp looks that the others gave him. "Never mind." 

Kari laughed disarmingly for the teacher's benefit. "Davis is right, some of the things we have for the computer club are special Sensei Miro. In fact they're too special to talk about outside of our meetings, right TK?" 

TK nodded firmly and smiled. "Definitely. No offense to you Sensei, but your not a club member and it's just a club thing, that's all." 

"Sure that's all it is, a club thing." Yolei observed nervously, then continued because her nervous energy characteristically spent itself in talking. "We wouldn't be hiding anything. After all, we're just kids and what could kids just like us have to hide? Not telling is just a club thing. So you see it's really very simple, and nothing to worry about at all." 

Kani Miro turned to Cody Hida to hear what he had to say. The youngster returned her gaze, and giving his friends a determined look of assurance, finally told the Sensei something that was true, discrete, and acceptable. "Sensei Miro-san, we actually have an important reason not to talk about details of the computer club in the open like this. You see, our friend Izzy is very good with computers and he made some improvements on a lot of the equipment we have. We have to keep them secret so nobody steals those ideas before Izzy is ready to make them available himself. I hope you don't mind that, and I hope my friends don't mind me telling you that." Far from minding, his friends were very relieved. Cody was always careful to be honest when he could help it, especially since that harrowing day at the Digital World oil rig. But the reserved little boy excelled at being carefully honest too. 

Cody's save ended the awkwardness in front of the substitute homeroom teacher, but it was also one of those things that he did when he didn't want anybody else to get to him. That worried Yolei again, but she didn't have time to dig into her small friend again. Sensei Miro laughed politely and said she understood about club things because she had teacher things to see to before the Lunch period ended, so she gracefully excused herself. Shortly after she left Cody also finished his lunch and explained he wanted to practice his kendo out on the playground. He bowed and headed outside. Yolei took the opportunity she had, which was rallying the others to the goal of making Cody happier. "Cody seems to have a lot on his mind. Let's make Saturday at the mall his day. Anything he wants to do after that free concert, we do. OK?" 

TK readily agreed. "I think that's a great idea Yolei. A complete day of enjoyment, just to ease his seriousness." 

Kari approved too. "Sure Yolei. Whatever Cody would want to do is bound to be interesting." 

"But I wanted to have fun Saturday." Davis observed. Yolei growled under her breath and glared at the goggle-sporting boy, who quickly relented "OK, OK. Saturday's for Cody. Whoopee." 

Yolei smiled a broad, glasses-squinching smile. "Great. Thanks, gang. I'm sure Cody won't ever forget this Saturday." 

The junior Digidestined continued with their school day. In another part of Odaiba Ethan Hunt and the rest of his IMF team spent Friday afternoon working at an indirectly rented warehouse to customize the equipment they would use to turn the Saturday setup to their advantage. Paige Brooke occupied Quint Morgan with fine tuning the special audio modulation that would thrill the crowd. Ethan Hunt and Norman Teller worked on a secret function for the speaker system. This would be very important for delivering on Ethan's promise to Cody to prevent harm to the boy's mother, friends, and other bystanders. Teller detailed the function as he installed. "It's a containment field, Ethan." The speakers will define the boundaries of the audience area, both on the ground and mounted above. As you can see, these are sensors programmed to detect all the relay signals that commonly detonate explosive charges on timers -- as you requested. The nanosecond that the sensors detect any signal to explode, these containment arrays will deploy and activate. Instantly everyone in the audience area will be sealed inside a cube of electroplasmic fields. The molecular structure of the fields will allow air to flow in and out, and I'm going to make the fields resonate in a way that causes the contained crowd to sleep, less panic that way." 

"Very good, Norman, but it's not just going to delay a dangerous collapse, is it? I don't want to put legitimate search and rescue teams in a race against a clock they'll have no idea is running." Ethan inquired and assessed. 

"Don't worry, it will do the job. The combination of those fields could easily support the weight of the mall's central structure and any contact with the fields will be forced out and away. The contained area will remain completely intact, and that's the way everyone inside it will be found -- like snow globes packed in a dimension of bubble wrap." Teller assured. "There is one thing Ethan ..." 

"... Yes, I know what you're going to say. Anyone who shouldn't be contained will have to be outside the audience area before the arrays activate. That includes myself and Cody." 

"How are you going to manage that Ethan?" Teller wondered. 

Ethan Hunt turned a steely gaze toward Quint Morgan. "I'm going to make that a matter of trust. Finish up here, and I'll be back. Teller nodded and Hunt moved casually over to where Paige and Quint were working. 

The female agent welcomed his arrival with news. "Ethan, Komi called to check in a few minutes ago. She said to tell you that Cody seemed just a little more worried and distant than usual for him this morning, but a very routine day of school seemed to be just what he needed. His close older friend were obviously but mildly concerned, nothing unexpected. All in all she thinks the boy held up well about last night, and is moving on from it." 

Hunt mused thoughtfully for a few moments. "That's a great summary, but I'd like to hear more of Komi's thoughts about Cody's potential to hold up tomorrow. Would you please get back in touch and run that by her. I have a few things to go over with Quint." 

Morgan watched Brooke agree and leave, then he moved closer to Hunt in casual confidentiality. Since returning from his evening out, the younger agent had been graciously apologetic about challenging Ethan earlier. He claimed to have gotten his act together, both literally and figuratively. Quint had been every bit the team player today, and maintained the look of a necessarily disciplined puppy when near Ethan. "Ethan, let me tell you again that I'm sorry about last night at the hotel man, I was way out of line. It won't happen again. Your the mission leader, and I'm completely with any call you make about it. No hard feelings, right?" 

Hunt laughed reassuringly, "Of course not, Quint. It was just one of those things the tension of confronting the mission objectives will do to any and all of us from time to time. You got it out of your system, and I appreciate the perspective. No harm done, so forget about it. Now, I wanted to let you know about a little wrinkle in our strategy tomorrow. There's something special I want you to do." 

Quint was totally focused. "No problem Ethan, just name it." 

Hunt continued. "They'll be taking the names of the kids under ten tomorrow. I want to make your third song a dedication to all the kids, and as a tribute to all kids everywhere I want you to bring one of them, Cody, up to the stage. When trouble breaks out, you'll be right next to him as a bodyguard while I'm tracking Zane. You'll make the difference between them getting Cody and our getting them. Are you up for that?" 

"Absolutely. I understand how important keeping this kid completely safe is now. You can count on me Ethan." 

"Yes, Quint," Ethan observed "I'm sure I can." 

Cody Hida was glad to get home early Friday evening. The small boy had wanted to adhere closely to his accustomed routine and he had done so. Reconstruction work in Digital World had gone well, and there was so much to do that his older friends forgot to worry about him or press him to open up about his worries. The youngster earnestly prepared for his kendo training with Grandpa Hida. When Cody first learned of the threat against him, the thought of using his kendo training aggressively to stop the evil doers had come to mind. Upon consideration though, the small boy banished that idea for a number of reasons. Practically, he would not be able to have his shinai with him while participating in Mr. Hunt-san's plan. More importantly, the young Hida valued kendo too much to reduce it to potential violent applications. Kendo was about honor, focus, and discipline, as expressed through ritual combat. It was not fighting, nor for fighting's sake. These traits made his chosen martial art a Hida thing. No bad person was ever going to take a Hida thing away from Cody, not ever again. The determined child willed that to be a fact. 

Still, Cody concentrated very hard on sparring with his Grandpa during their training session because doing that usually helped the boy mentally prepare for the day ahead, and Cody believed he needed that more than ever for tomorrow. Grandpa Hida was pleased with his grandson's intensity but something told the elder Hida that the boy was facing an internal opponent as well. Cody had a admirable range of intensity for a little boy, but that intensity was usually mixed with flashes of lightheartedness an even cute misconceptions that were just between them as grandfather and grandson. Tonight, there was nothing but the intensity. Grandpa Hida declared a rest break in their sparring, and hoped some discussion would reach the boy within his student. "You seem very earnest tonight Cody, and your techniques are very good." The older man said smiling, knowingly being less critical than the boy actually wanted in assessing his developing skills." 

"Thank you Sensei." Cody responded formally and bowed even though he was already kneeling on the practice mat, bringing his head gently into contact with the mat. 

"Cody, it's true that we are in the midst of your lesson, but we're at rest now -- at ease. That is why I call you Cody and not "student". So you can call me Grandpa and not "Sensei" right now," the older man offered. 

"Oh, sorry Grandpa. I'll remember." the youngster apologized with as much intensity as he'd done anything tonight. 

Grandpa Hida rolled his eyes. "Cody. I suspect that you are battling even while we rest this evening. You do not have to tell me that I am right, nor do you need to tell me the nature of the conflict you face. There are times in the life of every growing boy when he faces things without the comfort or securities that he has relied on, and succeeds or fails based upon what he himself can accomplish. I have seen you grow toward such moments recently, especially since the school year began. You spend less time at home and keep your own counsel more often. I had such periods in my boyhood, and so did your father, though I believe he and I were both. older than you are now when we first braved such experiences. Do not be troubled by going through such times though. You do not need to apologize if you need to go through those types of challenges ... or want to go through them. It's normal. As special as you are, as special as you've had to be so young in life, there are some normal things that even you cannot avoid. Understand so far?" 

"Yes Grandpa," Cody nodded attentively. Grandpa's words were relieving and empowering. Cody certainly didn't want to be separated from his family and friends, or to be anywhere near a man as evil as Delton Zane had to be. Yet, Cody did want some things from the approaching task. He wanted to stop the evil man from using that Eden Device to hurt people. The device also contained his Dad's DNA, though it was doing something good, it wasn't respectful of Dad's person. As soon as the machine was gone the necessity of that service would be over too. Cody wanted his family to be safe, and to be an instrument of that responsibility . Finally, Cody Hida wanted to see the man who had taken his Dad's life for exactly the reasons he'd shared with Mr. Hunt-san earlier. Maybe Grandpa Hida was more right than the boy had first realized. There were things Cody wanted from what was happening to him. The youngster decided to admit that to himself, and just maybe the whole situation was more under a degree of control. 

The senior Hida saw the boy contemplate the wisdom, and the small face softened slightly as the consideration deepened. That was a good start, but the man wasn't finished with providing advice to his charge. "Good Cody, but there are two very important conditions that I want you to understand about taking on challenges on your own, especially when you feel you have no other choice. First, though you may appear to be alone and feel that way too, take courage from the fact that you are never truly alone. In all that you do, your family and your friends are with you in spirit because we love and care about you and you love and care about us. We will only be as far away as your thoughts about us. Secondly, if what you attempt on your own succeeds, that is all well and good, and we will be proud of you. However, if what you attempt in your own right proves too much for you, then remember that you are a very young boy who obviously tries his best -- which sometimes has to be enough, and we will be proud of you. There is nothing you cannot venture from home to honorably attempt, and there is nothing you cannot return home from -- no matter the outcome of the attempt. Got it?" 

Cody Hida weighed the loving and inspiring words of his grandfather against the situation he faced and concluded what only a very serious nine-year old would conclude. "I sure hope your right Grandpa. Considering how old you are, I'm pretty sure you'd have to be." The youngster said this so matter-of-factly, and meant it with such earnest respect that he was completely oblivious to the humor in referring to the elder's advanced age. 

Grandpa Hida didn't miss it though, and the small Hida dojo was very briefly filled with the senior Hida's quick, chuckling laughter. "That's my grandson. Now Cody, let's see if my student can keep my grandson around for the rest of the lesson until your mother insists we come to dinner, OK?" 

"OK Grandpa. I'll do my best for Sensei." Cody promised, realizing what the man wanted from him. Being his age, being innocent and like-it-or not cute at times when it was least expected wasn't a weakness, it was a strength. It was part of who Cody Hida was and why people loved him. 

The two Hida warriors returned to sparring with much less tension weighing them down, and Cody gained strength, confidence, and peace of mind from actually being able to enjoy thie evening at home with his family. It was all that he hoped to defend. Eventually, Minako Hida summoned them back up to the apartment for dinner. The meal was satisfying and intimate, just the three of them. Afterwards, Cody helped clear away, and dried the dishes. Then Cody fed Upamon and brieflly, quietly discussed strategy. Upamon's assistance was going to have to be for extremely dire emergencies only. The boy tried to get as much of his weekend homework done as possible, because he really didn't know how much time he'd have to get it done after tomorrow. Cody decided to get to bed earlier than he had to for a non-school night. The youngter knew he could meditate at his Dad's shrine without causing too much concern, because he did that a lot, so tonight Cody did that before going to bed. Neither Mom nor Grandpa intruded on this private time. 

Cody Hida, so normally reserved and guarded, had no qualms about talking to his Dad here before the shrine. "Dad, I think you already know about what's happened to me so far, and what's going to happen tomorrow. I have important things I need to do tomorrow, and I actually want to do many of them because they are things I know you would do if you had to too. The thing is that I know I can't just do them by myself. I'm a kid, and I can't pretend I'm not. I don't think I should pretend I'm not. Upamon's going to help me, but I'm hoping you'll help me too. Please help me trust Mr. Hunt-san and his plan. He got me home like he promised, and he'll do it again if he can. Please keep Mom and all my friends safe at the mall tomorrow, and don't let them worry about me too much. Finally Dad, make me worthy to defend the honor of the Hida household, and if it's not too much to do please keep me safe and let me come home like Grandpa thinks I can. I know I'm sad a lot. That's because I miss you so much and because kids my age don't understand the way I like to be. Still, I really like being Cody Hida, and even if things could be better-- happier, about my life, it's still good and I still have things to do. I have a destiny Dad. I think I'd do almost anything if you were still alive to see it unfolding now, but I know you're still with me, and that's what counts. Just stay with me Dad. I promise to make you proud of me. Thanks Dad, and good night." 

The small boy's solitary exchange with his Dad was the last way he could prepare himself for the intriguing day ahead. He had "played it straight" the whole day, grateful that he could do so, and better for it. Cody's preparations were just a single layer of activities that were to converge at the Odaiba Mall on Saturday. If the youngster sensed the magnitude of that approaching convergence, he did not let it disturb his rest. The time to worry, like the time to prepare was over. Now it had to be done. 


	6. A Little Mall Mayhem

Mission Impossible: The Hida Factor

[AN: Some of my readers must wonder what is actually longer the chapters themselves or the time between chapters. Yes, this is a very long chapter, but it accomplishes quite a bit. Those who have followed my stories may have noticed that I write in "moments" (dialogue oriented) while I cover a predetermined portion of plot (narrative oriented). In my stories there are "Cody moments" and "Cody &" moments (as in Cody & Upamon). Plot inspires moments, moments can alter the course of the plot -- generally making for longer chapters.

In this chapter, I intentionally started the tone of the story soft, and then shifted it toward more of an edge. That way the whole thing models Cody's sense of the day -- an opportunity to be with friends and just on the verge of enjoying a childlike casual experience, only to be drawn back to his familiar, and fated sense of responsibility beyond his years. It's my story, and I'm sticking with it. Thanks to my beta reader "Timp", as well as supporting readers "Opus J" and "Code". Enjoy! -- BM] 

Chapter 6: A Little Mall Mayhem

Minako Hida expected having to mildly overrule some polite stalling by her son Cody before actually getting the young boy to leave the apartment with her for their Saturday at the city's mall. Instead, Cody was ready early with a very dutiful look on his face. He even put on his backpack as they prepared to go. "Why are you taking your backpack along dear?", the mother asked curiously.

Cody looked up at her, thoughtfully considering whatever reason he had. "Well, I will meet the other members of the computer club there, and I may have need of what I keep in the backpack. Don't worry, I won't let it get in the way at the mall. It's OK if I take it, isn't it?"

Minako wanted to shake her head, just in disbelief, but didn't because she knew Cody would think that gesture was a refusal. It was only so distressingly typical for him to speak of function, needs, and permissions, and this was just a casual afternoon out with friends. It wasn't supposed to be anything formal. Instead of expressing any displeasure, concern or frustration, Minako Hida smiled warmly, and played at straightening the straps of the backpack on her son's shoulder's -- even though they were already perfectly straight. "Of course you can take your backpack if you want to dear. It's good to be prepared for things Cody, but just remember that not everything you do has to have any other objective than having a good time. Nothing has to happen today for things to work out just fine sweetheart, you'll see. Let's get going then."

"OK Mom, thanks." Cody accepted and agreed. Deep down inside the youngster wished his Mom could be right about this day, and thought that under normal situations she probably would be. The boy had difficulty imagining that well-meaning adults could be wrong, at least about most things. Still there were things she didn't and must not know about today for her own sake, so his Mom couldn't help being wrong right now. She was offering good advice and he intended to keep it in mind for the future, but as the two Hidas left home together, the child only wanted and only hoped to fulfill a particular duty and return safely to all he knew and relied upon. 

The Odaiba Downtown Mall, as it's name suggested was a straightforward and efficient model of consumer marketing. It typically bustled on any given day, and especially Saturdays. Cody Hida knew that much about the place already. What Cody didn't know was that some of the mall's management team, who thought they were very clever, had decided that their facility could capitalize on hosting the quickly scheduled radio promotion. They did this by literally turning the center of the mall into a children's carnival midway: complete with games of chance, concessions, and a dizzying array of other brightly colored, loud things. These were meant to keep the kids who came for the radio promotion entertained well into the day, while the parents shopped, of course. The clever management plan was probably going to work too, because the mall wasn't just crowded. It was packed! This was the situation that the Hidas walked into this Saturday morning. Minako Hida was genuinely thrilled, but her son could only thinly cover his dismay. She thought Cody's general hesitation about socializing in large groups was triggering his anxiety, which it was in some part, but not completely. The boy knew a sustained throng was just that many more people who might get hurt here today. Now he'd have to worry about that while he still had time to be with his Mom and his friends. Sensing that the youngster's general mood was sinking, Minako Hida was about to encourage Cody when others found them who could relieve her of both that task and concern. Yolei Inoue was taking over the "happiness watch" in a big way. 

Yolei and the other Digidestined had arrived at the mall before Cody and his mom showed up there. She was going to be completely dedicated to her fictive "little brother" today. She knew he deserved some special attention from her for a lot of reasons. It wasn't just the boy's most recent bout with over-seriousness. Yolei was spending time with Cody, of course, but she'd recently be listening more to Kari, Sora and the others than she listened to him. He was too polite to complain about being neglected, and too mannerly to let it show between them. Still, he had to be feeling the unusual and unintentional distance between them lately. He meant too much to her to let age come between their special friendship now. From the day that she'd first propped Cody up to listen to her -- even before he could talk rather than just reservedly wouldn't talk -- she'd been able to babble to him about anything, and there would always be this look of consideration for what she'd said in his eyes. Conversely, his eyes always revealed his feelings to her. All of Cody's determination, accomplishments, intensity, sadness, and pain was there in her plain sight. That was true, even when he stubbornly refused to let the rest of his body tell people those things. So this day was for him. Yolei had even resisted inviting Ken Ichijouji, though Davis had wanted to, and maybe she had too, but today Cody came first. The mall's carnival set up was a big bonus as far as she was concerned. What a day they were all going to have now! 

The tall, caring girl knew how to get Cody to have fun today, knew it just as certainly as she knew that both Cody and Mrs. Hida would bow to greet them as soon as they had all gathered. Everyone was just saying their hellos in response when Yolei began to go to work. "Hello Mrs. Hida. Hey Cody!" Isn't this great? Look at all the games and stuff." 

"Yes." Cody noted tonelessly. "Look at all the people too," Yolei only seemed to get more enthusiastic. Kari and Sora giggled while all of the other Digidestined guys were smiling at him. These were not good signs. 

Yolei continued, "Sure, there are lots of people -- lots of kids just like you enjoying the fun too. There's plenty of time before the sign up for the radio thing. Do you see anything you'd like to try?" 

The small boy did her the formal courtesy of actually considering what she suggested before shaking his head sideways. "No thank you, Yolei. I'm sure they're very nice activities but I'll just stay here, if that's all right." 

To Cody's surprise, she didn't plead, just offered her observations. "I can see how you might want to stay put. Those kids are awfully noisy and disorderly. He wasn't used to Yolei being that pragmatic, but discovered it was just a teasing prelude to her next action. She reached down and took hold of his closest hand firmly. "On the other hand those noisy, disorderly kids could use an example of a quiet, polite one ... like you." The bespectacled teen began to gently pull him along with her while briefly turning to address his Mom. "We're borrowing Cody for a little while, Mrs. Hida. Then we'll get him signed up and meet you in the concert area, OK?" The other young people did their part by physically placing themselves where Cody had been and reinforcing the direction Yolei intended to lead him off in. 

Mrs. Hida waved goodbye to them all, laughing. "That's fine Yolei, take your time. I'll just do some browsing around here. Have fun with your friends Cody." 

The young Hida sighed with resignation, there was no point objecting or trying to resist Yolei's scheme. He'd put her off her concerns, and TK's too, earlier at school by agreeing to being present to have fun at the mall. Cody had hoped that might mean quietly going through the bookstore, and maybe having a soda. The boy had never imagined something like the indoor midway he was being drawn toward. The youngest Digidestined appreciated what his teammates ... his friends were trying to do. It must have taken a lot to get them all to take part. Still Cody wondered what they had in mind for him. His tall best friend had put him in that state of wonderment, and it was right where she wanted him. 

Yolei brought Cody to a ring toss game, where the prizes were large posters of celebraties that appealed to young people. There was a small line ahead of their forming group so the girl had a little time to sell the game to the youngster, and she had help. "Hey Cody, here's a simple one to start with. Line up and give it a try to win a poster." 

"But I don't need one of those posters Yolei, it would just be a waste if I got one," the boy observed seriously 

Sora responded excitedly. "Oh but Cody, I see one that I'd be thrilled to have. They're mostly letting you younger kids try, so please try to win it for me. Please Cody?" 

The older girl's influence on the young, mannerly child was immediate. "OK Sora. I can't promise I'll win the poster, but I will try." As if Cody needed any other motivation, Davis tried to give him advice by noting that the secret to the game was just overpowering the rings on to the bottles, and everybody would understand if a little kid like Cody wasn't strong enough to do it well. Looking over the game as he made his way up in line, the youngster didn't think the suggested approach was right. There were a lot of kids zinging rings at the bottles, only to see them bounce off to the floor. This game didn't require strength so much as it required control. True, a toss had to be strong enough to keep the ring settled where it landed, but if you didn't control where it settled it wouldn't matter anyway. By the time Cody got to take his turn, there was the determined look on his face of concentrating to generally prove something that all his friends knew so well. He was given six rings, and told he needed to land at least three of them on the assembled bottles to win a poster. Cody took even breaths, remembered to use his wrists with strength that was channeled properly, and let the rings fly smoothly. He landed four of the six surely in place over the tightly grouped bottles. The others cheered, and Sora had the poster she wanted. 

So far so good. While Joe assured Cody that it was perfectly fine not to have landed all six rings, and Izzy congratulated the youngster on executing the correct trajectories quickly, Yolei looked for something else to do. There was just so much that she couldn't decide on anything right away, except enjoying some of the cotton candy that was being distributed free. Yolei got an extra big bundle of the fluff and offered a portion to Cody. The small boy politely declined, then she insisted. The moment that Cody opened his mouth to decline more firmly, Yolei deftly stuffed it with a large piece of the cotton candy. The look on the young Hida's face, rolling his eyes with mildly confused exasperation, as he now had to -- but obviously did --enjoy the treat made the other Digidestined laugh, and Cody himself couldn't help smiling. He had such good friends, He was actually starting to have a good time, and they didn't think he was weak or silly for letting that show here. It was what they wanted for him. Then Tai and Matt called excitedly to the rest of them because they had found the "perfect" activity, a climbing wall that looked like a mound of rock. They wanted Cody to scale it, just for fun. 

This time, there was no need to coerce Cody to approach the attraction. The adult supervisor told them that it was only the "junior" size of climbing wall, and that even their short young friend met its height requirement. There was also a special feature. A small door was built into the "summit" near the top of the wall. Part of any climb included checking to see if the door would push open, because every now and then it would be unlocked. If it was unlocked, the climber had to be brave enough to crawl inside the door and press a button that would be flashing with red light. What happened after that was anybody's guess, at least according to the smiling supervisor. Cody assessed the wall. Some kids his age weren't making it to the ledge where the door was, and had to be lowered back to the floor in their safety harnesses, though they all appeared to enjoy just doing that much. He thought he'd be able to complete the climb, but logically wondered if it wouldn't be better to have a stronger Digidestined boy try for the sake of pushing the mystery button. Cody proposed this option to TK. The tall blonde boy smiled widely back at the smaller one. "No thanks, Cody. That'd be a great suggestion if the team was at stake, but its not, so relax. You get lots of exercise from practicing kendo all the time, and nobody's more determined than you are. You know you can do this. Besides, if that door is as small as it looks like I think you're the best one of us to try. OK?" 

"OK," Cody answered. The response was brief and sounded dutiful, but there was a hint of a grateful smile with it. 

"I'll hold your backpack for you," TK offered. 

The youngster hesitated a moment. Then slid the backpack off his shoulders into TK's arms extra gently. "Please don't wake him up TK," Cody requested matter-of-factly 

The request startled the older boy. "You brought Upamon? Why?" It wasn't like Cody to casually bring his Digimon partner out to public places. 

Once again, Cody answered honestly but carefully. "I wasn't going to, but he never gets to come with me anyplace but the Digital World, and he really wanted to come with me today. We agreed that he wouldn't come out of there unless I really needed him." 

TK's face flashed concern. "When would you really need Upamon's help outside of the Digital World today Cody? Is that even possible?" 

Cody Hida's face was now as serious as ever, but the tone of his voice was unalterably matter-of-fact. "I honestly don't know." Any further discussion was thankfully prevented when the supervisor said he was ready to get Cody climbing. 

The man helped Cody into a safety harness and a helmet. Davis joked that at least the headgear wouldn't disrupt the younger boy's hairstyle. The remark was meant and taken in fun, but still quickly shushed by the Digidestined girls. Cody waited until the man told him to go for it, so he began climbing. The lower section of the wall wasn't hard. There were lots of holds to choose from. He kept his eyes ahead of him and concentrated on reaching the ledge above him, because that was the task at hand. Things got a little trickier when he reached the middle section. There were fewer holds, and they were only in certain places. The boy realized that a person might be able to reach the top just by being strong enough to maintain both grip and balance without holds, but he couldn't do that. However, he saw that the placements of the holds defined a specific path to the top. Cody had stopped where he was to consider all this. His friends below cheered him on while others watching thought he might be too tired or scared to continue. Those ideas were unproven when Cody got moving again, with a renewed and determined certainty. The youngster had seen the path and followed it methodically to the ledge. He stood on the ledge and caught his breath. Everyone below unnecessarily reminded him to try the door. He nodded for their benefit and carefully made his way along the ledge to the outlined door. The hatch responded easily when he pushed it, opening and staying open. There was indeed a big red button inside the compartment, which was no bigger than a large cardboard box. He had to kneel on the ledge and crawl halfway inside to reach the button, but pressing it was a popular demand from below. Cody pressed the button. 

Music began to play from speakers built into the wall. Cody quickly but carefully climbed out of the space to save his ears and to see what was going on. He watched in amazement, along with the gathering crowd below, as a panel in the top of the rock mound opened and a wide pipe mechanically rose out of it. When the pipe was fully extended the music changed to a rumbling sound. There was a sudden intake of air somewhere, and the pipe, apparently some kind of air cannon, gently blasted small pieces of wrapped candy into the air so it showered down to the crowd on all sides. It wasn't just a single blast either but a series of ten, covering the area with candy that was joyously collected in a somewhat orderly fashion. The friendly supervisor told Cody to return to where he'd reached the ledge. When the boy did so, he was lowered safely and easily by the rigging for his safety harness to the ground where a hero's welcome awaited him from a throng of young people. 

While the supervisor helped Cody out of the safety harness dozens of kids his age and older offered him congratulations and passing thanks for the troves of candy they were carrying off. Cody thanked the man running the attraction for allowing the door to open when it was pushed. The man gave him a wink and told him that it had been one of the few times that someone Cody's age had discovered the climber's path on the first try. Cody bowed respectfully and returned to the other Digidestined, who cheered him with near-embarrassing volume. They all had individual shares of the candy that had been deployed. Yolei had gathered a larger share as a prize for him, which Sora wrapped in a handkerchief and Kari decorated with a small ribbon. The youngster accepted the small tribute and put it in his jacket pocket, promising to enjoy it later. 

"Sure," "Yolei agreed. "I'll bet Upamon will love to share it with you later." 

"... Or sooner." TK quietly mused, while helping Cody get his undisturbed backpack on again. There was an innocent twinkle in the taller boy's eyes, so Cody didn't mind the little joke. 

Tai, true to his position as leader of the gathered group, looked at his watch to time an announcement. "Hey, everyone, it's not too long before that singer takes the stage, let's go get signed up for that prize." 

The Digidestined collectively agreed. They got Cody up to the front of their group. It was a friendlier, slightly more familiar crowd that parted to make way for the small boy and his friends. They neared the stage area, and Mrs. Hida came into view. She was with someone, and as the Digidestined girls all noticed, he was a handsome someone. Yolei asked the question they were all thinking. "Cody, who's the man walking with your Mom?" 

Cody was clearly looking intensely at the two adults, but his face was expressionless as he replied matter-of-factly, "That looks like Mr. Jonu Sozi. He's a visitor who knew my Dad." The youngster hoped that his pragmatic tone wasn't strained with distress. He had been foolish enough to begin wishing that Ethan Hunt would somehow discover being all wrong about that man Zane's plans for the day, leaving Cody alone to enjoy this whole day. So much for wishes. Mr. Hunt-san was here as Mr. Sozi-san. The task was at hand, and there was no avoiding it after all. 

The two adults welcomed Cody and his friends, and introductions were exchanged. It was obvious to the young Hida that the Digidestined girls were all captivated by the charming Mr. Sozi, and the older Digidestined guys seemed to admire the man's ability to do that. The youngster supposed it was just as well, but easily getting by on pretenses upset him inside. Yolei wasted no time in telling Mrs. Hida all about Cody's successes on the midway. She was delighted to hear about it, and so was her company in a more-than-just-trying-to-be-nice sort of way. They all walked the rest of the way to the concert area and Cody placidly submitted to the slight indignity of being registered as the "little pal" for his group. 

Their group wasn't the only one arriving for the show. There was a lot more audience than expected, and the mall staff was quickly expanding the parameters of the listening area. Ethan Hunt immediately realized the problem that would cause, and he was ready when Norman Teller alerted him through the internal earpieces he was wearing "Ethan, problem!" 

Jonu Sozi nodded very slightly while turning his head from side to side to admire the attendance. He seemed to strike up a little conversation with Cody Hida. "I hope the speakers here have enough power to cover this area. The boy naturally played into the necessary cover by considering everything spoken to him, and quietly, replying. Still Cody got the idea that he really wasn't the one being talked to. What Jonu-san was saying was not what Hunt-san was talking about. 

"Right," Teller confirmed. The audience area is too big. The containment fields won't be strong enough to hold, not without more power." 

Jonu Sozi kept talking to Cody. "As big as this thing's getting to be, you'd think they'd have to pump all the electricity in the place into the sound system at some point and time to get the coverage they're looking for." 

Teller replied. "I understand, we can divert every bit of power this place has to the containment fields as they activate. I'll get Paige on it now, we'll make it work. You've got the earpieces I made for Cody, mind if I ask how you're going to insert them with his friends all around him?" 

The businessman smiled as if he just wasn't minding his own business while addressing Cody again. "Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Other than a light chuckle, Teller offer no comment. 

After some brief moments passed to disassociate one action from another, the charming Mr. Sozi-san offered to show Minako and the Digidestined girls a magic trick. The one thing he needed was a volunteer, and he invited Cody to be that volunteer. Cody neither wanted to show distrust of the man, nor to disappoint the pleased look on his mother's face, so he agreed to be the volunteer. Jonu-san helped Cody to take a seat on one of the high brick walls of a nearby raised decorative flower bed that helped beautify the mall. It was doing the old coin-from-the ear trick. At first he seemed pretty obvious about it, but there was an impressive, misdirected speed to his slight of hand. He produced large coins from both of Cody's ears, but the boy was almost certain that something else had been placed in each ear as well. Hunt's motions had been so fast and easy that even Cody wasn't sure if something had happened or not. There was generous, cheering applause for the trick, and Cody tried his best to ask without asking "Is that it ... Jonu-san?" 

The engaging businessman patted him on the shoulder. "That's enough magic for now Cody, that'll get you through the show, take comfort from that." He said it like a joke. 

"OK," the boy replied in a muted tone. 

It was Hunt's turn to ask a question. "Say, that's a nice backpack. Were you expecting an adventure today?" 

Cody tried not to be defensive, but the man had to understand his determination. "There are days when I don't know what to expect, so I try to stay ready. I've got my backpack because it makes me feel ready for whatever the day brings. I'm not going to use it if I don't really have to, but I'm going to have it to use if I do." 

Ethan Hunt smiled through the guise of Jonu Sozi. "It's good to plan Cody, especially if planning makes us feel better about things that might happen to us. Just remember that there are larger plans for us all, those are the things to look out for Cody. Those are the things that have to happen." 

"Oh, I know Jonu-san, thank you." Cody knew he probably would've bowed to any other adult offering him this kind of advice, but doing so still didn't seem right, so he didn't. Thankfully, the singer's show was beginning, so the others with them didn't notice the lapse in formal respect. 

The public address introduction of the singer was in Japanese until they got to the singer's name. He was presented as Vic Dex , which were two impressive sounding names, but Cody quickly didn't care for the singer's music. It started out loud and thumping. The singer's voice was practiced -- like the words mattered anyway -- but there was something artificial about the vocal quality too. Cody felt himself becoming frustrated with the whole situation again. He considered sincerity to be so important, and here he was in the company of a fake man; in the middle of an event for held for fake reasons; and listening to a singer that sounded fake. He wanted to be rid of the fakeness, all of it, right now! So much counted on what was going to happen, though, like he'd been reminded had to happen. He couldn't do that, it would feel right but it wouldn't be right. Worrying about it was just as impractical as ever, so Cody only crossed his arms and stood stoically in a crowd full of other young people who were again happier than he was. 

The small boy couldn't help but notice just how happy the people around seemed to be now that the singer was performing. It was ... odd. All the other Digidestined had an almost-silly look of pleasure on their faces, and they were what Matt described rather vaguely as "grooving". Cody could have chalked that up to typical youthful group mentality -- but his mother, of all people, looked much the same way -- and this was definitely not her taste in music. Cody was too short to judge the reaction of other adults in front of or behind their position, but he could glance up and down the line of the sort-of row they were in. Everyone else, adult and young alike, seemed spellbound by a song that was just average by logical and generous consideration. Everyone was, Cody noticed, except for himself and Jonu Sozi. Then, unnervingly, Ethan Hunt's voice as Jonu-san sounded in Cody's ears for only him to hear. "Cody don't panic. You can hear me because of tiny earpieces I placed in your ears during the coin trick, but you I think you guessed I did something. Now listen carefully and follow my instructions. Take in a breath through your nose and then talk by mumbling quietly out of your mouth. The vibrations of your words will travel through your skull into your ears and I'll be able to to hear you perfectly, just like you hear me now. We can speak like this without anyone telling because the music is loud. You noticed that too." 

Cody did as he was told and spoke to Hunt in the prescribed manner. The process didn't allow for inflection, but that hardly bothered the boy now. "What's wrong with everybody? They seem ... dazed." 

"Don't worry about that Cody, they're all fine. My team put a special tone into the music that relaxes people and pleases them. It's necessary to keep them in the audience area and relatively calm. The earpieces we're wearing filter out that tone. We have to stay clear-headed," the agent explained. The boy nodded slightly because he couldn't deny the logic. 

"What's going to happen?" If Cody could have made himself sound like he was begging to know, he would have. 

Hunt chose to be very direct and brief with his answer. "During the second song, Jonu's going to excuse himself for a quick call he forgot to make. During the third song you'll be called to the stage." 

"I will?" Cody said suddenly. 

"Yes. Everybody else stays right here, where we are now," Hunt detailed. 

"But the danger ...," the boy insisted, trying to remember to mumble. 

"... Everyone in this audience area will be protected." Hunt stated. "Now, when you're on stage -- and you start to think nothing will happen, that's when it will. You mustn't be scared. You have to be ready. While you're up there don't get distracted by anything. The lights are going to go out suddenly and there will be two big explosions. Here's a secret that only you and I will know now. When the lights go out, a section of the stage right in the middle will open and flash with bright light. Close your eyes and jump into that flash as quickly as you can. You'll land in what we call a 'hot box' -- a personal safety compartment , and the opening will close over you.. It's going to be locked, cramped -- especially with your backpack -- and completely dark but I'll let you out myself, and I wont be Jonu when I do. When you're in the box, stay calm and save your strength. It's got a self contained oxygen supply, and plenty of it for the short time you'll have to stay in there. It will just feel like a long time. Do you understand all that?" 

"Yes," Cody said because there was nothing else to say. 

"Good. Take a deep breath with your mouth now and be yourself. We'll talk again when that much is over." In a perfect world Ethan Hunt could have told Cody Hida what a brave kid he was being even for considering doing what he'd just been told to do -- much less any of what else was coming. The man knew it wasn't a perfect world, and this wasn't the time to start pretending for the youngster's sake. 

The singer's second song began a short moment after the first, and did not afford the crowd a chance to come out of their group stupor. In the midst of this song Jonu Sozi truly seemed disappointed when he had to check his pager. He then apologetically indicated to Minako Hida that he had to take care of a business matter. He'd be back as soon as possible because he was having a great time. Cody watched as his mother's newest friend squeezed her hand in a goodbye gesture, and how their clasped hands seemed to linger, the way the youngster had noticed the hands of older kids did in the school halls when they were "couples". No one caught the more-than-slightly annoyed look that briefly passed across Cody's face. Then it was gone like Jonu Sozi was. The young Hida let go of that tense expression just in time to hear the end of the song. 

A lull settled over the event as the singer spoke between sips of bottled water to announce that he was going to, "... switch gears and take things down a notch." He went on to say that he was very excited that so many kids, and especially younger kids, had come out to see him. As far as he was concerned there was no spirit in music if young people didn't enjoy it. The crowd loaded with young people cheered and applauded noisily, and Vic Dex seemed pleased with evoking that response. The singer took a deep breath, and finally said it was time to announce the winner of the radio station's promotion by bringing the winning "little buddy" to the stage during a musical tribute to all kids everywhere. He even revealed what the prize actually was: an all-expenses paid trip to Japan's hottest new theme park "Land of the Rising Fun". That news sent everyone into a joyous frenzy, which had to play out before the announcement itself could be made. Cody Hida hesitated when his name was called, and with all the cheering in reaction, his friends and teammates assumed the small boy's reluctance to advance and be recognized was actually reserved surprise. Mrs. Hida gave Cody a quick hug of congratulations, and he wanted it to be longer -- but Matt picked him up playfully, showing the crowd where their winner was. Those around the Digidestined group quickly made a narrow path to the stage, and the older Digidestined eagerly sent Cody on his way. 

Cody was welcomed to the stage, and the American singer made a big gesture of crouching down to the boy's level as a way of proving how well the performer could relate to the young audience he was supposedly courting. The youngster was asked for very routine information: his name, his age, his school, and Vic Dex reacted to each answer as if it was very exciting to hear. The man asked if Cody was nervous about being on the stage, and the boy honestly admitted that he was. This answer caused the singer to prompt the audience for some encouraging applause, which was promptly and loudly supplied. Finally, Dex showed Cody to a small stool very close to the middle of the stage. The boy was asked to sit on that stool for the next song, which was for him and for all children. 

Vic Dex began to intone the mellow lyrics and sentimental melody of the tribute song. Jace Randall and his strike force -- all authentically dressed in mall security uniforms accessed selected basement stairwells from the mall's underground parking garage. Randall was in complete operational control, and he relayed final radio instructions with terse, efficient clarity. "Move in on my signal after the detonations. I'll trigger them during a certain phrase in this song. Remember -- we are mall security, rescuing and evacuating. Our target should be at or near the stage. Possible power outage and debris are likely to impair vision. The target has a tracking implant so use your transponders to home in. We want to extract only the target. I'll make the approach, the rest of you keep others from reaching the target as necessary. We'll subdue target for delivery after clearing the site. One minute." 

From his vantage point on the stage, young Cody Hida watched the audience sway back and forth, enjoying the song. Surely, it was almost over. Maybe the bad people had been scared off after all, or thought twice, or something reasonable. The youngster scowled to himself, unnoticed by any onlooker. No, the boy remembered what Ethan Hunt had told him. Cody knew he had to be ready, he focused on being ready, and he was ready when ... 

Vic Dex sang the song's signature line: "Every child is a surprise." ... and "Raptor" Randall thumbed the button of a remote control detonator. 

Anyone who has ever lived through a crisis knows there is that moment when everything is normal and OK, only to be instantly and significantly altered by chaos. Chaos found a lot of people enjoying that kind of ideal moment on a Saturday at the Odaiba Downtown Mall, and it promptly blew that moment to blazes. A sequence of several events happened so fast that they seemed to be a single, terrible thing. Before the pulse from Randall's detonator triggered the intended charges, it activated Norman Teller's electroplasmic shields, which instantly commandeered every watt of electricity from the building's wiring. The hub of the mall, it's most interior and currently most crowded location, was plunged into a nanosecond of total darkness. Then, much of it was sealed in four walls of eerie green energy. Cody Hida never saw those green walls because he had turned his head as the lights went out to see a shaft of light frame the promised opening in the stage floor. The small boy darted from his stool, jumped through the lighted opening, and crouched as compactly as he could while the panel allowing his entry slid quickly back into place and locked securely. When that panel locked the lights that had outlined its aperture from the walls of the unit faded out. Cody and Upamon were contained, safe from everything but dark uncertainty. The singer, Vic Dex, who was really IMF agent Quint Morgan -- the man who had pledged to personally protect the youngster in the open wasn't concerned by Cody's secret removal to a hot box -- because Quint wasn't there to see it. Morgan had vanished with the lights. The people inside had no time to notice the suddenly empty stage, or realize they were trapped, before the whole place was rocked by two explosions from above. 

The ceiling above the audience area rippled like waves through reluctant water. large cracks formed at it's perimeter, radiating into smaller cracks that covered the entire overhead surface. After one last groaning moment of structural integrity it collapsed showering down in chunks, bits, and choking vertical clouds of dust. The water line for the sprinkler system had been sheared open by the blasts. The cold water sprayed into residual heat, blanketing the entire effected area with an indoor fog. The explosives had been well-placed and carefully gauged. The damage looked severe, and the shock value was undeniable Still, the major collapses only effectively cut the mall's hub off from it's wings. Beyond that, the idea was just to frighten a crowd out of its collective wits and send them scattering. The first thought that crossed "Raptor" Randall's mind as he entered the area was wondering where the panicked mob was. 

Randall quickly had other concerns. Visibility was worse than expected, that and the same questions now repeatedly buzzed through his radio headset -- What caused the central debris to fall as if it had surrounded something big and why was the surrounded thing glowing green through gaps in the debris? Randall didn't know -- and like all fouled up things in situations that can't be backed out of, the unknown couldn't be allowed to matter. "Never mind! Transponders still show target is near the stage. Close in now!" Whatever was wrong about the capture operation, it was nothing that taking the Hida boy couldn't fix. The mercenary became more assured of that fact when he made out the figure of a small form lying on the floor where the transponder signal was peaking strongest. There wasn't any large debris lying around him, so the kid just had to be dazed. The "Raptor" affected his best "concerned authority" voice while approaching the child. "Hey, there son. Are you alright? Come on, let's get you out of here!" Randall reached down to roll Cody Hida over, but it was only as the figure turned too easily to reveal the featureless face of a soft-bodied mannequin, that the soldier of fortune realized the hunters were now quarry. Randall shouted, "Trap! Abort!", but it was already too late. The short, high-pitched whine of air pistols -- the kind that fired immobilizing darts -- sounded. Randall heard pained grunts and loud thuds from the precise location of his operatives, and he knew that his men had all been rapidly incapacitated. There was nothing to do now but escape and get back to Zane -- or better yet, get out of Japan as quickly as possible. Randall turned and instinctively tried to draw his sidearm, but the gun was wrenched forcefully from his hand while a fist connected solidly across his face. The blow sent Randall to the ground, more from surprise than injury. The "Raptor" immediately pushed himself up off the floor to look at his attacker. 

IMF agent Ethan Hunt stared back at Zane's man with a hard, unnerving look. "Jace Randall. Amazing. You're moving up in the world. I thought you'd might like to pick on someone your own size today, Jace. I'm doing you a favor, so you're going to thank me by telling me everything I want to know about Delton Zane just as quickly as you can. Now I realize you may not be willing to provide me with that information. Actually, I hope you're that stubborn." Hunt's face became even harder, more unforgiving. "Convincing you might be the most fun I have all day." 

Randall knew that Hunt wasn't the only IMF agent present. He wondered why they weren't already consolidating the advantage of surprise now that they also had numbers on him. The mercenary didn't know if that was a mistake he could ride all the way out of the situation, but he had no other options. "Where's the boy? You know what kind of psycho Zane is, so you know I can't tell you anything and I can't go back to Zane without the Hida kid. Seems to me we have kind of the same problem. I know Zane's operation and you know where the boy's hiding. So how's this supposed to work, Hunt? You've got backup and you've taken mine down." 

Hunt's tone became mock reassurance. "Don't worry Jace. This is one on one, and it's not going to take long." He took a stance that invited attack. 

"You're funeral." Randall noted flatly, and launched himself at the IMF agent. 

The lunge was controlled, indicating that Randall was no amateur, though desperate. He tried to grab Hunt roughly by the shoulders, but the IMF team leader broke that attempt with an upward thrust of both arms that also left his opponent open to two more quick punches to the face. The blows backed Randall off by steps, and Ethan Hunt knew to be wary of danger from hidden weapons. The "Raptor" didn't disappoint, drawing a knife concealed in his uniform. Randall thrust and swiped the blade with practiced menacing. Hunt feigned, dodged, and countered. He caught Randall's knife hand, and used the forcibly extended arm as a fulcrum to spin into his assailant, then landed an elbow to Randall's ribs and yet another blow in an uppercut to the face. In just seconds Randall was sprawled on the mall floor and Hunt had possession of the knife. Jace Randall was beginning to understand that he was no match for Hunt. He even had a vague understanding that the IMF agent wouldn't finish him off for the sake of information on Zane, but the mercenary's own pride and sense of professionalism made him determined not to talk. That meant Hunt was only wasting time. That was satisfying enough to spur Randall to renew the attack. 

While the two men engaged in hand to hand combat, Cody Hida was doing his best to deal with his confinement. The box he was in was oriented horizontally, and that meant it wasn't deep, but it was wide, having been made to house a grownup in a standing position. Cody had landed in it face down. The youngster crawled backwards to the far end of the compartment. Next, he loosened the straps of his backpack and crawled forward again, shedding the backpack as he went. He moved back again to pull the pack gently forward until he had it in the middle of the box. Cody opened the backpack's large flap and let Upamon out. Once the small Digimon was free the boy also fished out a palm-sized, battery powered flashlight. Cody turned the light on and placed it over his head so that in shined back on him and his partner. It was just enough light to see each other while they talked. There was no need to speak quietly, they couldn't be heard outside the box, just as they could not hear the outside world. 

"Thanks, Cody," Upamon began. "It was getting really stuffy in there. Are you OK so far?" 

"Yes, Upamon," Cody noted briefly. Upamon knew the boy didn't mean to curt, he was only concerned about all that was happening outside, especially about his Mom and the other Digidestined. The little yellow Digimon knew how to let Cody say the things he wanted to say, and to hopefully feel the way he needed to feel. 

"Do you think that man Hunt kept his promise about keeping all the other people safe Cody?" Upamon asked. 

"Yes." The boy answered with only a few moments of thought, "He's kept his word so far, so I believe him." 

"Do you think he'll be able to stop that bad man Zane and get you back home too?" 

Cody thought more about that question. Whatever happened to him was not as important as the safety of his mother and friends, but ... "Yes, I think so Upamon. Why are you asking these questions?" 

Upamon smiled hard, "Gosh Cody, I'm glad to hear you say those things. It makes me feel better to know you've thought about them, and if you're confident that things will be OK, then that probably a good way to really help make it that way in the end. But you know what, Cody? I think it's still scary, and even knowing that it's all probably going to be OK doesn't stop me from being just a little scared too. I think it's OK to be a little scared right now, so I hope it is OK. OK?" 

Cody's pause in replying was profound. When he finally did answer, the boy's voice was much less tense. "Of course it's OK, Upamon. I'm ... I'm a little scared too. 

The Digimon moved even closer to the boy, and Cody gently patted Upamon, so they were both mutually reassured. "Then like you told me Cody, that's OK." 

The battle between Ethan Hunt and Jace Randall continued in the isolated hub of the Odaiba Downtown Mall. Randall fared no better now than before, but the soldier of fortune believed he was forcing the IMF operative into a hollow victory. If Randall didn't return to the island compound with the boy soon, Zane would know that the attempted abduction had failed. The assassin would abandon Japan just long enough to regroup and try for the Hida kid again. Zane would likely repay this last act of compensated loyalty with a contract on Randall rather than for him, but it would mean never having sold out an employer. While Randall was picking himself up off the floor ... again, Hunt appeared to realize the time constraint, and started to talk about a deal. 

Hunt spoke with the energy of someone hurried from an enjoyment. "Look, Randall, there's no need for this. Don't get me wrong, I'd like nothing better than to beat the daylights out of you here all day, but we both know I don't have that kind of time. You think about this, think about how long it would take me to reach Zane with my IMF team. Think of how long it would take you to reach the airport and catch a flight to a destination unknown. There isn't time for me to stop both, you know there isn't. I'm after Zane and the Eden Device, not you. I'll go after Zane because there's only time to reach Zane from here before he bolts, isn't that right? So think about it. Are you thinking about it, Jace?" 

Randall growled in fatigued frustration "... I'm thinking about it Hunt." 

As soon as Randall admitted that, Hunt's expression immediately changed to stern satisfaction and the IMF agent shouted into the darkness behind his foe, "Now!" 

An intense beam of blue light shot though the settling fog, targeting Jace Randall's skull. The mercenary's initial grunt of discomfort became a full-throated scream as the beam's energy in accomplishing its task topped out the man's considerable pain threshold. "What ... is ... this? Torture ... don't care! Won't talk!" 

Now, Hunt spoke as if educating a small child, "You won't have to talk Randall. You're being scanned by a device called a ... say, what is this thing called? 

Norman Teller emerged from his position well behind Jace Randall. He had the device emitting the beam that currently assaulted Zane's man. It appeared to be a cross between a rifle and a satellite dish, and plugged into a printer "It's a neural generation extrapolation beam. A bit clunky right now, but that's to be expected from an overnight prototype. By the way, Mr. Randall, any discomfort you might be feeling is entirely intentional. This will just take a little longer." 

"Oh, have a heart." Paige Brooke pled in an amused tone as she stepped into view. "That's too many big words for poor Jace right now. I'll make it simple for him to understand." She turned to Randall, "You just thought about the location of Zane's compound in relation to here. We're downloading that thought, and a few others for reference purposes. At the same time we're cross-referencing that data with the geographical intelligence on Zane's likely location. In no time at all, we'll have a match." 

"Then ..., " Randall growled with clenched effort, "... the fight? A con!" 

"Absolutely!" Ethan Hunt confirmed enthusiastically. "You're just a little slow on the uptake aren't you Jace? First, we baited you with the tracking device originally implanted in the boy. Once you had that signal, and we knew you had it, we replaced it. The only thing it led you to was the mannequin. Enjoyable as the fight was, its only purpose was to wear you down -- knock you off guard, and get you thinking the one thought we wanted you to think." 

In a spite born of pure fury Jace Randall summoned enough strength to find the concealed hypodermic needle, loaded with a sedative intended to render Cody Hida unconscious. Hoping to sever or disrupt the brain scan, he jammed the needle into his own thigh. The action automatically administered the fast-acting drug. Randall promptly dropped like a stone. 

"Perhaps, I should have mentioned we had everything we needed." Norman Teller observed, then he continued reviewing the extrapolated thought data "It's an island, Ethan, and not far. In a few minutes I'll have everything on it, down to the last pebble. They've got a rental boat waiting at pier #18 at the harbor. The claim check's in his ... right shirt pocket. 

"Good." Ethan acknowledged. "Paige, have some of our Japanese agents clear Zane's thugs out of here and into special custody, They need to be secured before actual search and rescue crews dig the non-players out of here.. After that, rendezvous with Komi to set up the end game. I'll get Cody out of his box, then Norman and I will finish up with Randall." 

"Got it, Ethan," Paige acknowledged. 

"Right," Norman confirmed. 

Cody Hida felt his safety box being pulled from its resting place. There was just enough time to get Upamon stored before the access panel released its air-tight seal and opened. Ethan Hunt, undisguised, helped the boy to stand, then lifted him out of the box. Hunt noticed that the boy was composed, and had shrewdly taken advantage of what space was there by removing his backpack. Cody dutifully, intentionally took sole responsibility for that once again. He put it on while trying to orient himself to his surroundings. The reserved boy could only gasp at the destruction which seemed so extreme. Cody finally turned toward the area where his Mom and friends were supposed to be. He saw a wall of rubble from floor to former ceiling. The boy instinctively started to run toward the collapse. Ethan Hunt had to quickly grab Cody and gently restrain him as the small boy struggled. Cody yelled, proving the intensity of his concern. "Let me go! What did you do? You'd said they'd be safe! Are they under all that? I don't see them! Mom! Yolei! I'm very sorry, just be safe! Mr. Hunt you ... you ..." Cody couldn't find the next word to say, it was wrong to say words like that. 

Hunt spun Cody around quickly and the boy gazed fiercely at the man. Ethan was careful not to respond harshly. Cody was emotionally sensitized because of his seclusion, but didn't know that he was. The IMF team leader spoke quickly, reassuringly, and in Japanese. "Cody they are safe, everyone but the bad guys is perfectly safe. You remember my friend Norman, he's over there. He generated a box of energy to protect them -- the whole audience area. They're all inside it now. Look, you can see it's green glow through gaps in the debris wall" 

Cody pressed for details that concerned him. "Can't they hear me?" They didn't answer when I ... yelled at you," the lapse in control now bothered the boy. 

Hunt smiled, "No, they're asleep. The green energy resonates in a way that made them all sleepy. They're even safer that way. I wouldn't break a promise to you Cody Hida." 

The small boy was calm again, and apologetic. "I know that now. I'm sorry I yelled at you." For the first time since really meeting Ethan Hunt, Cody bowed to the man. 

Hunt honored Cody by returning the bow. "Don't worry Cody. Your Mom and the others will be out of here shortly after we are. I'll do everything I can to get you back to her as soon as possible. I know you will too. Do you like boat rides on the harbor Cody?" 

"Not especially Mr. Hunt-san." The youngster wondered if his dislike of deep water was already known. 

"I didn't think so." Hunt noted. "It's not a problem though ..." The IMF agent stared down intently at the collapsed form of Jace Randall. "... I'm going to have to make a face about this trip too." 


	7. Shadows and Truth

Mission: Impossible -- The Hida Factor

[AN: Here is the complete version of Chapter 7. There's a revelation at the end that I'm sure a lot of you have seen coming. Yet, somewhere in the ether of the story, imagined, but not yet written, is the real shocker. A lot down. A lot more to come, and it will. Thanks to my beta reader "Timp". Thanks also to support readers "Opus J", "Code", and this time "Super Tiny Guy" too. Enjoy!]

Chapter 7: Shadows and Truth

Cody Hida squinted against the glare of sun off of Odaiba Harbor. The speedboat he was riding in was raising a light spray of water that settled on him, only to evaporate in the breeze accelerated by the boat's movement. It was a combination too wet and too cool to be pleasant. The fact that the boy's hands were bound behind him underneath his backpack only added to the genuineness of the misery showing on his face. Cody knew his current uncomfortable captivity was part of the plan to stop the evil man Zane. Looking distressed was probably appropriate, even though it was the way he really felt anyway. Cody Hida was too honest to deny a feeling that was so true.

Ethan Hunt's newest disguise, that of Jace Randall, contrasted with the honestly miserable look on the boy's face. Another flawless replication, complete with Randall's own clothes, allowed the IMF team leader to convey the smug and victorious satisfaction that would be for Delton Zane's benefit. Yet, behind the affectation, Ethan Hunt considered the boy who was dutifully, truthfully carrying out the role of prisoner. There were so few truths Hunt could allow himself. Even when he'd been Cody's age, Ethan had understood that most people tend to act based on what they only think is real, and if a person was lucky enough to see an underlying reality ... clever enough to control that reality, then that brought advantages. Such was the potential that IMF had seen in him, then trained and perfected into a mastery of deception -- for the sake of international security, of course. For all the polish IMF had applied to his deceptive abilities, he'd always had the inclinations for them. 

Though it was easy for IMF agents to think of themselves as the ultimate hustlers and virtually the rest of the world as marks or suckers, Hunt had another term for those who could not do what he did, but needed him to do it for them. They were innocents. He didn't say it much -- it was too idealistic, right? Still, that's what they were -- and Cody Hida now personified their need to have some leverage against those who would take advantage of that innocence for twisted and sick reasons. Hunt was part of that leverage. Those two truths could not be as sustaining as the fortress of honesty that nine year-old Cody Hida could still afford to maintain around him, but they kept Ethan Hunt sane. It was the only way he could justify what he was doing with the boy now. Cody Hida was innocent, Ethan Hunt wasn't, and he cast a shadow over the youngster's truth, but darker shadows threatened Cody. The boy needed the protection of guile that simply was not in him. 

Cody, by virtue of his innocence, naturally did not like the way IMF did what it did. Hunt knew that feeling almost certainly carried over into a near dislike of the people who did those things. Hunt had seen the boy struggle to be polite nonetheless. As an agent, Hunt had to mitigate and work around the child's natural disdain, As a man, Ethan hoped that Cody never lost it, because it was the pure absence of intentional deceit. 

Hunt decided to check on Cody, but he cautiously used the sub-vocal method that would only be heard through the small earpieces that he and the boy were still wearing. "Cody?" The boy didn't respond right away and the IMF agent got set to remind him how to secretly communicate when Cody finally did answer.  
  
"Yes, Ethan-san?" Cody quickly pondered how one man could have such different voices, but then dismissed the thought as unnecessary at the moment.  
  
"Are you OK?" Hunt noted that Cody was now addressing him by his real first name -- a sign of respected familiarity re-earned at the mall for promises kept. Still, the youngster's voice was distant, and his answers were brief.  
  
"I think I'm OK." Cody stated, fighting a slight shiver to mumble the words clearly. The IMF agent didn't acknowledge the boy's response, and Cody tried to understand the slight as part of necessary tension between a real captor and hostage. 

When the speedboat neared the fishing lanes Hunt brought it to a stop. A quick search of the boat's storage compartments yielded a brown canvas tarp. Without saying a word the man wrapped the tarp over and around his restrained passenger, backpack and all, until Cody could visually pass for bundled boating gear. Hunt lifted the boy and carried him forward, depositing Cody in the space created by the aerodynamic curve of the hull over the steering and the craft's powerful engine. It would take a close inspection to determine that the man wasn't alone. The operative never broke character, even as he explained his actions in disinterested, pragmatic terms, "I can't have nosy fisherman spotting you now." 

Cody saw his abrupt relocation in different terms. The tarp was heavy and warm. It quickly took the chill off. Being in the close space so near the engine was better too. It was dry, the steady vibrations from the engine would counter the choppy way the boat moved, and it was shielded from breezes. Cody was grateful, and briefly freed his face from under the tarp to say so. "Thank you Ethan-san." 

The man gave the child an expressionless stare. "I haven't done anything for you. I'm hiding you because someone might see you." 

Cody became stoically disappointed "I guess I mean I'm fine for now. I would've been alright anyway. I've got something in my backpack that will keep me warm if I keep it dry. Let's just keep going." The youngster pointedly wriggled himself back under the tarp. Upamon might not like to be oversimplified as a backpack warmer, but that was truthfully one of the benefits of currently having him along. At least Upamon cared. The boy scolded himself for making a snap judgment about a person, a bad habit he was trying to correct. Maybe Ethan Hunt really did care, but had to concentrate by behaving like he didn't. The conversation seemed to be over, but Cody began again. "Ethan-san?" 

"Yes?" Hunt answered. 

The boy got to a point quickly, "The man you look like now ... did you have to hurt him to make his face?" 

"No, its a painless scanning process." Ethan explained, but decided it was best not to tell Cody about the hand to hand combat between himself and Randall at the mall. 

"Oh, ..." Cody noted, "Good. ... Will anyone else have to get hurt for us to do what we need to do?" 

"I don't know." Hunt replied. It might have been soothing for Hunt to add "I hope not", but the agent knew that could well turn out to be something much less than the truth, so he didn't say it. 

"Oh," was all Cody said in return. 

"We'll be there soon." Hunt finished, then also returned to silence. The speedboat started up again, moving faster than before. 

Back at the Odaiba Downtown Mall, Yolei Inoue was being roused by one of the many paramedics now on the scene. The tall girl managed a couple of nods to answer that she was OK before the rescuer moved on to the next person in need of help. Yolei saw that everyone who had been in the concert audience area was now being triaged nearer to the building's main exit. The center of the mall was a complete wreck, and the girl wondered how anyone could have been pulled out from there. Suddenly, she realized how important it was to know how many had been, and exactly who they were. She looked around frantically. The largest age group she could see was the younger kids. They were in mostly frightened, but unhurt bunches waiting for the authorities to reunite them with parents who had been in other parts of the complex when whatever happened hit the place. Yolei glanced from small face to small face, yet could not find the serious-looking one she hoped would be looking back for her. The girl felt a building sense of concern specifically for her best friend, and she moved purposely closer to the nearest group of younger children. She called out for him, "Cody." When he didn't answer Yolei tried again. This time she was deliberately loud. There were times when Yolei was admittedly a tiny bit louder indoors than she actually needed to be, and Cody never failed to correct her matter-of-factly if he was within earshot. So when Yolei yelled, "Hey, Cody Hida!" and got no response, it was really time to worry. She snapped out of that as soon as she remembered Cody's Mom was here today too. Cody would have protectively sought out Mrs. Hida at the first sign of trouble, of course. The youngest Digidestined had been on the stage, so that's where Yolei headed as quickly as she could.   


Yolei found Mrs. Hida as the woman was showing a picture of Cody to a combination of police and fire fighters. None of them had seen the boy yet. When Minako Hida saw Yolei, she immediately came over to the girl. "Oh Yolei, thank goodness! I'm so glad to see you ... has Cody been with you?" 

Yolei Inoue took a long look at Minako Hida. The girl knew right away that she couldn't possibly burden the woman with additional worry and uncertainty. Yolei understood that Cody spared his Mom as much intentional concern as he could by being responsible and helpful. Now, the bespectacled teen would do the same, only her way, being optimistic and super-cheerful. "I haven't seen him yet, Mrs. Hida, but I know I will. Cody's never been very good at hide-and-seek. Whenever I finally get him to humor me by playing it he always chooses the most obvious hiding places." The girl managed an encouraging grin.  
  
The girl's positive tone was perfect, but she saw that the humor of mentioning Cody in atypical play passed too quickly. It made Minako Hida smile momentarily, but fresh worry dragged the expression into a sudden frown. "Cody's so little trouble and so much help, that even I forget that he's still very young. He's just a little boy, though. What if he's trapped somewhere? What if he's hurt ...?" 

"... He isn't, Mrs. Hida!" Yolei insisted. "I haven't seen Cody, but I saw a lot of other younger kids who were just fine, so Cody must be too!" The girl's comforting had nearly won the moment, when a man in a dark suit approached and asked Mrs. Hida for a look at Cody's picture. 

Like all IMF agents, Norman Teller was trained to multi-task across specialties on IMF teams. Though he would never have Ethan Hunt's gift for assuming identities, Teller was perfectly capable of using a face and a vox patch to convey a persona. That's what he was doing now by introducing himself now to Minako Hida and the Inoue girl not as Norman Teller but as Inspector Datsai Iatsu, an agent with the Japanese division of Interpol. "Is this your son, Mrs. ... ?" 

"... Hida. Yes, that's my son Cody." He was right up here. I'm trying to get the emergency crews to help me locate him." Minako Hida was clearly distracted and dismayed by the man's inquiry and detachment. "I'm sorry, who did you say you worked for? Have you seen my son?" There was a growing desperation in her second question. 

"I work for Interpol, Mrs. Hida, and I've seen your boy, but it's a complicated situation now." Iatsu answered, "We should discuss it elsewhere, privately." He glanced at Yolei and then back at Mrs. Hida. 

His suggestion visibly shook the woman. "Tell me where Cody is, right now! Oh please, you have to understand, I lost his father to violence, and now if ... tell me!" In all the years Yolei had known Cody's family, she'd never heard his mother raise her voice, but now Minako Hida was screaming. 

Teller made Iatsu a man of composure, not compassion. His next revelation stunned Minako Hida back into silence. "Your son was apparently taken hostage from here by corporate saboteurs." 

"What?" Minako Hida was simultaneously relieved by the thought Cody must be alive and chilled by the Inspector's news. "You .. you mean he isn't even here in the building? Who'd want to take Cody? Where have they taken my son!" 

"There are security tapes I'm reviewing now. If you'll come with me I'll show them to you. The girl should go now." His terseness invited the woman's insistence. 

"Yolei is Cody's best friend. I need someone who cares about him near me right now. I'll come with you Inspector Iatsu, but she comes with me," Minako declared firmly. 

"Fine, if you'll both just come with me now, please." The man responded with resignation. The woman and girl who urgently followed behind him had no idea that drawing both of them into the new scenario was exactly what Norman Teller had been instructed to do. All was according to Ethan Hunt's plan so far. Ethan wasn't just going to turn the tables on Delton Zane. Hunt planned to crush Zane under the weight of those tables. 

The supposed Inspector Iatsu led Mrs. Hida and Yolei to a commandeered office where he cued up a mall security tape on a hastily provided video system. "Now, the majority of the footage is poor because of all the fog, heat, and debris. Still, coming up here is a section we've been able to enhance for clarity." The woman and the girl peered worriedly at the monitor and saw a grainy image of one of the mall's service doors. That door opened, fog billowed out, then the small form of Cody Hida emerged. The boy was being roughly escorted out by a man with a harsh grip on Cody's collar -- and a large gun. From the angle of Cody's shoulders it seemed that the youngster's hand had been tied. 

"Cody!" Minako Hida gasped, and couldn't say any more. 

Yolei instinctively put a comforting arm around Mrs. Hida. Her eyes were locked on Cody's face from the video. She saw how worried he was, and just knew that his concern was more for the people he was being taken from than for himself. The girl told herself not to cry. She chose to be angry instead, really, really angry at the man who dared to push Cody around. She wanted to yell at the screen and demand that the creep leave Cody alone. Yolei checked that impulse because it wouldn't do any good, and because the Inspector was going to explain who the kidnapper was. 

"The man forcing your son to leave with him is Jace Randall, an American mercenary." Iatsu told Mrs. Hida. 

"What does he want with Cody?" Minako pressed for some reason, any reason. 

The man from Interpol adopted a confidential tone. "The better question is who was he getting your son for," The woman had mentally shifted into the gear for crisis situations that most mothers have. She was still very upset, but she was purposefully listening to everything she was being told. "I won't lie to you Mrs. Hida. Randall's a dangerous man. However, we're operating with intelligence that suggests that the American's involvement here was for hire. We're nearly certain that someone with an interest in demoralizing global economics opportunistically used the festivities here to strike today. Your son was probably taken hostage as a convenient representative of all consumers, to be ransomed for some symbolic gesture like deflating Japan's currency. 

"Don't you have any idea about who would do such a thing ... who could employ this awful man Randall?" Minako pleaded. 

Inspector Iatsu shook his head to say no, but offered a glimmer of hope. "We haven't identified Randall's employer yet. However, whoever it is probably has himself very well connected to the prominent business community here, and that's to your son's advantage." 

The mother's expression begged to understand what he meant. The girl, Yolei, impetuously phrased the question out loud. "How can that help Cody?" 

The man explained. "If there's a connection between the mastermind and influential Japanese business leaders, we can get the word out that any harm done to the boy will become a very big black eye to to their images. They, in turn, will very likely let it be known that your son must not be harmed at all if any business with them is to remain possible. There's even a chance that we can persuade them to give up the perpetrator's location -- but it's more likely that they'll quietly arrange a safe and discrete return of the hostage. Be assured Mrs. Hida, we won't rest until both your son ... Cody ... is safe with you and the people responsible for his abduction are in custody." 

"I just want Cody back." Minako Hida related, letting her determined composure go, holding tighter to the girl who was her son's friend. 

"Yes, ma'am." Inspector Iatsu noted with the detachment that Norman Teller knew would make him an unmemorable person. "The best thing you can do for your son now is to go back to your home and stay by the phone. Interpol has arranged to handle this case. The lower the profile, the better that key people will consider for securing Cody's release and turning over the person ultimately responsible for taking him. It will be necessary to monitor your phone in case you're contacted for the ransom demand or Cody is allowed to contact you. I'll follow you there, but with enough delay not to convey anything but routine investigation. I'll coordinate from there and you'll know everything when I do. You can leave as soon as you feel up to it Mrs. Hida, or can I have someone drive you home?" This offer was strictly pro forma. 

"I believe I can drive myself." Minako Hida assessed while trying to process all of what Iatsu was telling her. She started to hunt through her purse for her car keys. A realization suddenly hit her. "Wait Inspector, I was here with Cody to meet someone, a passing acquaintance of my late husband. His name is Jonu Sozi. He left the concert area to see to a business matter. I couldn't leave without speaking to him, trying to explain this." 

Of course, Ethan Hunt had prepared Norman Teller for this likelihood. "Mrs. Hida, we're already aware of Mr. Sozi. He was one of the first people to contact emergency responders when the mall was attacked. We're questioning him as a witness. He told us he went to an exit near the concert area, and was just outside the building when the explosions here happened. He tried to get back to the hub, but was blocked off by rubble. That's when he called it in." Inspector Iatsu let out a slightly annoyed sigh. "If you'd like to speak to him, I can arrange it." 

"Yes, please." Mrs. Hida affirmed, as the IMF team predicted she would. 

Iatsu took out his cell phone and dialed a certain number. "The mother wants to speak to the witness," he prefaced, then handed the woman his phone. 

"Jonu? Yes, I'm alright ... it's Cody, someone's taken my little boy." Minako Hida sobbed, but quickly tried to compose herself and seemed comforted by words offered to her over the phone. "No, please, don't come by. I appreciate the offer ... thank you for understanding. Jonu, I would like to see you again -- when I have Cody back." Her voice cracked again and she fought for control. "Thank you so much for your concern ... and everything Jonu. When this is over, you'll know where to find us. I've got to go now, goodbye." 

On the opposite end of the cell phone connection, Paige Brooke peeled off the vox patch that had allowed her to duplicate the voice Ethan Hunt had used for the Sozi character. The experienced female agent took a relieved breath. Experience or not, that had been hard. 

Minako Hida handed the phone back to the Inspector and she turned to Yolei. The girl had been unusually quiet, perhaps further upset by the way the brusque man from Interpol was speaking. "Yolei, I'll take you back to our building. I'm sure your parents must be very worried for you." 

The girl was naturally willing to stay with Cody's Mom as long as it took, but Iatsu had information for the young teen to take or leave. "I can understand if you want to help Mrs. Hida, young lady, but many parents of the older children have been discretely summoned here to collect their kids at a central area the emergency crews have established here. It's a good chance your parents will be among them. You might want to be here for them ... or I can tell them you've gone with Mrs. Hida." 

For a moment Yolei Inoue looked torn. Then, an impulsive idea emerged in her mind, and she seized it with all her motivation. "I'll see you to your car Mrs. Hida, but I'll stay here. My folks probably are that worried, and I need to ... check on the rest of the ... computer club." The tall girl resisted the urge to add "if that's OK," to her explanation because it would have sounded so much like Cody that even thinking it hurt. 

"That's perfectly fine Yolei." Minako understood. The woman hugged the girl fiercely. "In fact, it's for the best, because I have to go get Cody's grandfather and somehow break this all to him." 

Inspector Iatsu reacted to that with patronizing concern. "I hope the shock won't be too much for an elderly man." 

Minako Hida moved closer to point something out to the inspector with mildly building anger. She'd had just about enough of Iatsu, never realizing that was the whole point of his projected attitude. "Inspector Iatsu, you have no understanding of my father-in-law. I don't know what the people who've taken Cody might believe in, but if they prayed at all it would be to thank the heavens that you might have them in custody rather than having to deal with Cody's grandfather." She turned away from him and quickly left the office, followed closely by the Inoue girl. 

It was Norman Teller's turn to exhale tension. Ethan Hunt's complex strategy against Delton Zane was manifesting. Ethan was infiltrating disguised as Randall with the boy to achieve the primary objective, destroying the Eden Device and taking Zane down. Teller's angle as Iatsu was to curdle the market that Zane thought he had for the device by upping the ante on Zane's likely Japanese business contacts toward dishonor by association -- a true threat that would not be taken lightly. The process of the supposed Interpol involvement would also distract the Hida family and neaten the mission wrap-up with convenient official authorities. Things were going well, but not perfectly. It was all emotionally charged now. He was certain Minako Hida would fully cooperate, and that Mrs. Hida would channel the grandfather's anger into cooperation. Of all things, it was the girl ... Yolei ... who had Teller worried. He'd noted her thoughtfulness while he'd talked at Mrs. Hida, even though it appeared Iatsu didn't give the girl a second thought. Yolei Inoue had been thinking hard when she left. It was as if the girl had been trying to plan something to help her younger friend. Teller wondered what the young teen thought she could do, and more importantly, worried about how and when she might try. 

Not long after Mrs. Hida's tense departure from Odaiba Mall, the disguised Ethan Hunt brought the speedboat in to dock at the secluded island Delton Zane was using as his base of operations. Hunt had to recognize the choice of locations as ideal. The island was an easy reach from the city by boat, but it was also outside fishing lanes, outside shipping lanes, and the skyline of Odaiba was just beyond the horizon. Out of sight, out of mind. Still, the information gleaned from the mind of the real Jace Randall was perfect. That, accessed schematics, and the trained use of a natural photographic memory would make for an effective portrayal. Hunt instantly noted that he'd guessed correctly, the strike force captured with Randall at the mall had comprised the majority of Zane's mercenary forces. Only a small security detail remained on the island now. They wouldn't be getting the returning squad they were expecting, making Delton Zane a little more vulnerable and all the more dangerous. Ethan Hunt now had every reason to believe that Zane had learned from their encounter three years ago. He'd have special protection near at all times. If Randall had not known that before leaving to acquire Cody Hida, it's likely he'd have learned it in the immediate future. Zane was easily visible in the large window that dominated the compound's second story and overlooked the dock. Seeing Randall return without the other men had to alarm Zane, but only at first. Seeing Randall haul the small, tarp-bundled form out of the boat -- that was the prize. The boy was Jace Randall's ticket of safe passage back into Delton Zane's presence. Ethan Hunt would count on Zane never realizing that Cody Hida would be more than that. 

Cody was unwrapped from the tarp and it took a moment for his legs to steady themselves on the wet, floating dock. For a moment, while Cody still faced the disguised agent, the youngster looked like he wanted Hunt to say something -- anything -- that would indicate that they'd really leave this place safely and as soon as possible. Nothing was said. Instead, the captor turned the prisoner toward the compound, and began a march forward. The boy looked up and saw the other man that was now looking back at him. Cody knew that man had to be Delton Zane. The child sensed something more. Ethan-san probably sensed it too, but differently. Ethan Hunt was on guard against danger. What Cody Hida recognized when looking at Delton Zane was ... evil. In the presence of that, Cody understood the cautious, uncertain silence. 

The dock led inside a gate on the shore of the island itself. From there they entered the compound's main building. From the outside it looked like a fishing lodge, quaint and just overly-secure. The inside had been converted into the nerve center of a quasi-military and quasi-scientific operation. A bank of video monitors revealed multiple camera positions fixed throughout prefabricated building extensions that radiated from the back of this main building like the strands of a spider's web. Zane summoned Randall and his prisoner immediately, so Cody Hida's rough escort continued up a flight of stairs to the room maintained as an office, the same room overlooking the dock below. 

Cody was hauled into Zane's office. The boy's wrists hurt, his legs were stiff from the boat ride, and his head ached from both worry and concentration. Still the youngster was determined to meet the evil man's gaze with all the righteous contempt possible. However, Zane did not immediately turn from the big window to recognize their arrival, so he was evil and bad-mannered. Instead, Delton Zane pelted Jace Randall with cold, angry questions. "Mr. Randall, I thought we had agreed on certain things regarding your operation today, had we not? The boy was to be sedated, yet I see he's quite awake. Why is that Mr. Randall, hmm? Oh, and what of all the other men who left here with you, where are they Mr. Randall? Can we still count them on among our ranks?" 

"No we can't count on seeing them again, Mr. Zane ..." Ethan Hunt spoke with Jace Randall's gruff voice and and forced deference. "... because the operation didn't account for the intervention of an IMF team." 

"Led, no doubt, by Ethan Hunt." Zane saw a perplexed look cross the window reflection of Randall's face. "It doesn't matter if you saw him or not, Mr. Randall. Wherever IMF attempts to thwart me, there too is Ethan Hunt." 

"You mean you ...," Randall began to ask. 

"Knew?" Zane predicted. "Oh yes, Mr. Randall, I certainly knew that IMF -- particularly Hunt, would meddle in my attempt to reactivate the Eden Device. I've known all about Hunt's IMF team from the moment they reached Japan up to their attempt to thwart your raid at the mall." Zane allowed himself a crisp, evil laugh. "The IMF activity at the mall was desperation, really. I'm told that Hunt actually wanted to take custody of the child, but discord within his team never allowed that before your strike. Don't concern yourself with how I know these things. It's not your concern at the moment. Just be aware that my knowledge made your way as clear as possible. IMF was on the defensive the whole time. Even so, I'm surprised that you achieved the objective ... and impressed. You have the boy! That success is worth every man I sent with you." 

Ethan Hunt took the necessary moments for Jace Randall's confused reaction to his employer's revelations to mentally enjoy all that Zane did not know. Keeping Quint Morgan unaware of Cody's initial abduction and secure storage at the mall had turned a dangerous traitor into a natural conduit for misinformation. Hunt would deal with Morgan when the time came. Right now, Zane believed that he'd gotten Cody first, and that the boy was now helplessly in the man's power. The distance between what Zane believed and the truth was the one chance IMF would get. 

Cody tried to follow the meaning of the exchange between the two men, though it took place in English. Even without words, the tone made the boy cringe involuntarily. Delton Zane turned to face his hard-sought prey. He had the nerve to initially ooze the charm of a host, as if the restrained child was his guest instead of his prisoner. Zane spoke to him, greeting the boy in mangled Japanese that the man actually seemed proud of. "Hello, little boy Hida. Do as told, cooperate. Your stay here will be short and less unhappy." 

Cody's response was almost patronizingly matter-of-fact. "Excuse me for saying so, but it's not really polite to speak in a language if you can't pronounce it correctly." Ethan Hunt could hardly think of anything that could have stung the pompous killer more. 

Zane came with clipped, angry strides and stood over Cody. He growled with the vindictive scorn of an unexpectedly corrected substitute teacher. "Where are manners little boy Hida? Not showing me your famed manners?" 

"Manners are wasted on evil men!" Cody vented more than a little natural frustration with his predicament by yelling at this bad man. Delton Zane reacted by trying to land a fierce blow across the child's face, but a showy wind-up allowed Cody to recognize the attempt. The child ducked, and Zane's fist met nothing but air. The enraged man reared back, and he was about to throttle the youngster. Ethan Hunt wanted to grab hold of Delton Zane's wrist and break it. Instead, "Jace Randall" pushed Cody Hida down hard in the ribs from behind, leaving him sprawled face down, out of breath on the carpeted floor -- but also safely out of Delton Zane's reach . Hunt understood Cody's defensive reaction, but the agent could not allow Zane to suspect that the young Hida was capable of anything special, even the reflexes of a trained kendoist. 

The American took hold of the prone Japanese boy and forced him to stand before he wanted to, moving them both away from the other man with a show of anger. "Randall" pointed a threatening finger in the boy's face and used a harsh tone to convey the meaning of the words. "Show Mr. Zane some respect. You'll live longer." 

Delton Zane seethed while toying with his cufflinks and adjusting the fit of his suit coat. It was angry bluster ironically meant to send the message that Cody's defiance wasn't upsetting. He walked back over to the scowling youngster, leaned in close and hissed more brutal Japanese just inches from the boy's face. "With what I plan for you little boy Hida, your death starts as soon as possible, but happens very slowly while I harvest what I need from you. It will be enjoyable for me." He finished with a vicious smile and then moved away. Cody held his scowl with stubborn bravery, at least until the evil man turned away again. Zane spoke to the impersonated Randall again in English. "Take him to the device team. Have him hooked up immediately. I'll be along as soon as I can. I'm going to activate the system myself." He condemned Cody with relished satisfaction. 

Ethan Hunt spoke through the persona, careful to weight the words in the context of professional caution, but adding a hint of fear that Zane was sure to pick up on, and feel superior to. "What about Hunt and the IMF? If they're on to this, they've probably got a way to track the boy even if the kid's never seen them. If they were slick enough to tag him with the microdot we used to locate him, then they could be monitoring him a dozen ways from Sunday. Shouldn't we keep the boy as leverage, at least until we relocate." 

"Calm yourself, Mr. Randall. It just so happens that I have the secure frequencies of all the tracking devices the current IMF team has with it. Even now there's a large satellite dish on the high point of this island shielding our operation completely. There's no need to relocate. Now, take ..." A short computer-generated chime followed by the soft whir of a printer pulling paper interrupted Zane, and also delighted him. "... Ah, and see there is no time to relocate. I took the liberty of informing my most immediate contacts in Japan of the availability of my new service. They must be eager to fax in their contracts." The disguised IMF agent watched carefully as Zane's gloating smile reading these faded, first to disbelief, then to rage as he looked back and forth from the pages to the subdued boy. 

Ethan Hunt chose this time to follow orders. He dragged Cody toward another door in Zane's office. "Let's go kid." 

"Wait!" The European commanded. Only an expert would have detected the calculation in the pause that followed. "I've changed my mind. I'm going to have a full diagnostic on the Eden Device to make sure we can use the boy with optimum efficiency. In the meantime, lock the brat up somewhere. I don't care where as long as it's under camera surveillance." 

"Whatever you say, Mr. Zane." the American acknowledged. "Is anything wrong?" The question was couched in a tone of clueless ignorance, because Zane was so obviously bothered by what he'd read. 

"It doesn't concern you. Now get that child out of my office!" 

"Whatever you say, Mr. Zane." It was "Jace Randall" that repeated himself, but Ethan Hunt knew that Norman Teller was doing his job. The kidnapping of Cody Hida was now a very sensitive subject for certain Japanese businessmen. Zane would have to ponder what to do. He'd have to take the time, and in that time Zane would lose ... if. That "if" wasn't very big -- just very young, rightfully scared, and answering to the name Cody. The disguised agent changed directions with a credible hint of annoyance to haul the youngster out of Zane's presence the same way they entered. He'd take Cody to the barracks section of the compound. After the events at the mall there were several spare quarters to choose from. 

When the American and the boy were gone, Delton Zane sat in the imposing leather chair at his desk, at first turning toward the large window behind him. Then he turned back to the desk, reaching to push up and slide back a small secret hatch built carefully into the front edge of the desktop's underside. Zane pushed the button the hatch enclosed. A full panel of the wall opposite the desk opened by retracting in halves into the floor and ceiling , a man emerged from the hidden observation space. 

"Jace Randall? Was that the best you could do Delton?" the newcomer seemed to tease mockingly. 

"He brought in the boy, and can be publicly identified as doing so. That's all that matters. Of course, he doesn't know how indebted to you he is for that accomplishment. He'll be very close to death when he realizes that. Very sad -- for him. There is an unexpected complication." Zane thrust the faxes at his guest. "I trust you'll help me work out a creative solution." 

"I'm your man Delton," Quint Morgan affirmed.. "Consider it done." 


	8. Convergence

Mission: Impossible -- The Hida Factor

[AN: Believe me when I say a few things here. First, I am continuing this story until it is finished. Second, I plan to finish the rest of this story sometime in the 2004 calendar year. Finally, constant editing is a writer's best friend. This chapter is a case in point. I had reached an ideal place to end this chapter, then went right past it because the writing was clicking. I've gone back, given myself a head start on Chapter 9, and maintained a solid, readable eighth chapter. Like LMO before it, I'm beginning to get glimpses of the ending for MIHF every now and then with thoughts of "oh that would be neat" -- the rest is just writing to those points. Somewhere along the way I've lost contact with my main beta reader "Timp". I haven't gotten a response from him in months now. I lost "Flower Cannon" as my beta reader just as suddenly before, and such losses dismay me. I really hope I hear from "Timp" again. If for some reason I don't I'll say an immense THANK YOU for making the end of LMO as good as it turned out to be, and for giving me great feedback for MIHF. Thanks also to my other readers: "Opus J", "Code" and "Super Tiny Guy" -- none of whom have balked at the parts of this chapter I've sent to them. Enjoy! -- BM]

Chapter 8: Convergence

As IMF agent Quint Morgan renewed his traitorous association with Delton Zane, the remaining members of Ethan Hunt's team were discussing how to handle a different kind of loyalty problem. Norman Teller reported the hint of action from Cody Hida's friend Yolei Inoue. He weighted his concern with the fact that the girl was rallying the close group of other teens who were also the child's friends.

Komi Nagamu had previously spoken to teachers and staff who knew both Cody and Yolei at their school. All could easily relate stories on both the girl's impulsiveness and her friendship with Cody. "One other thing," the younger agent noted, "The computer group that Cody and his school friends belong to has to be some kind of informal wing of the actual school club. They seem to have a set membership, but the school doesn't parse its clubs that way. On one level it makes sense, because Cody's doesn't tend to be a joiner. Yet, the group would have to have something to do with computers if he felt comfortable describing it that way."

Paige Brooke, taking field command of the team while Ethan Hunt portrayed Jace Randall, assessed her colleagues' information. If being IMF taught any absolute lesson it was to never take anything for granted, especially by underestimation. The natural consideration was not to worry about what a group of kids could possibly try within the tight timeframe the mission was already playing out along. On the other hand, an intriguing possibility ... or rather a near impossibility emerged. "Komi, didn't you say that Cody and his friends reluctantly admitted to carrying special equipment for their club?" When Komi nodded Paige followed up with a second question, "What interactive dynamics did you observe among these kids together?"

Nagamu thought quickly about that, and certain patterns emerged with clarity as she talked them through. "Cody certainly wants to report to his friends, and he wouldn't do that without recognizing some duty to do so. If the girl Yolei senses anything wrong she engages in a very benign form of coercive modification to make things better. The boy, TK, and girl, Kari, prefer to make suggestions, and seem to stand as examples for the others. The other boy Davis is a take-charge type. That's not Cody's style, and it's apparent the two can be at odds, but Cody defers when the group embraces Davis' direction." These refreshed distinctions piqued Komi's interest as they seemed to excite both Brooke and Teller. "What does that tell us?"

"I believe I know what Paige suspects, but it's still hard to imagine." Norman Teller offered. "Think about what you just described Komi, but outside the context of school kids. Davis as an element of decision, TK and Kari offer precedent situational guidance, put Cody in for counter-intuition, and add Yolei for continuing operational modification. If that all leads to action on consensus, along with the use of specialized equipment, then it's a pretty recognizable formula, isn't it?"

Komi Nagamu was physically jolted with realization. "You're talking about a functional command structure for covert operations!" She turned toward Brooke "You think Cody and his friends are some really some kind of team?"

"I'm really beginning to Komi," Paige acknowledged in a tone that still shared the amazement of the two other agents. We'll need to proceed as if it's true. We're stretched too thin to test a variable."

"You want to go worst-case scenario Paige?" Norman Teller asked, mentally preparing for what an affirmative answer to his questioned entailed.

"No, Norman. A team of kids turns to our advantage. If it appears that Delton Zane was bested with the help of a group of after-school sleuths, his reputation is finished and the network he coordinates almost certainly collapses." Brooke answered.

Teller covered his considerable, and impressed, surprise with a mild adjustment to his glasses. "Ethan couldn't have said it any better. But, how do we pull it off?"

"Thanks Norman, that a true compliment," Paige noted with a smile. She began to discuss what she had in mind. "If they're collectively as clever as we have to think they are then they'll come to us." She turned to Komi Nagamu, "More precisely, they'll come to you Ms. Substitute. Are you up for a little adolescent intrigue?"

A determined smile spread across the younger agent's face, "Absolutely."

"Good," Paige asserted. "It won't be long. They may even call your apartment. When Cody's friends make contact, this is what you tell them ..."

Elsewhere in Odaiba, Yolei Inoue indeed rallied all the other local Digidestined. Their reunion in the mall during rescue operations had become bittersweet when the rest of them learned of Cody's abduction. After reassuring their individual families that they were safe, the older Digidestined accepted personal responsibility for the younger ones so they could all get back together as quickly as possible. Joe Kido was successfully able to characterize the new assembly as informal "group therapy" in dealing with their emotions in this situation. He even secured the use of a meeting room at his university for them. Actually, Joe's story wasn't completely untrue because Yolei could not be consoled, was increasingly angry, and needed some outlet for a building impulsiveness that knew no bounds. It was clear she had an appeal to make, but she had to get a grip first. Davis was just about risk serious injury to ask her what she thought they could do when Tai, backed by Sora and Kari, stepped in to start things himself. All it took were the words, "Look, Yolei ... about Cody."

Yolei jumped up from where she sat. "Don't 'Look, Yolei' me! I know just what you're going to try to say Tai. You're going to tell me that trying to find where Cody is, and who's got him is too dangerous and we have to just let the police handle it!"

"Well, actually...," Tai attempted.

Yolei continued anyway, "You're going to tell me that this is the real world and if we get in real trouble here our Digimon won't be able to evolve to help us!"

Tai tried again, "Can we please just talk about ..."

Yolei wasn't stopping. "You're going to say that if we act too much like a team searching for Cody, we might get found out, and that'd be bad for our Digimon and the whole Digital World!"

The older Digidestined leader raised his voice slightly, just trying to get her to listen, "Yolei, I haven't been able to start saying ..."

Yolei raised her volume too. "Well, fine! Just point those things out because I've already thought about them myself, and none of it's going to stop me! I'm going to get Cody back! If you've got anything else to say against that, then back off! Goggles or no goggles I'll pound anyone who tries to stop me, even if I'm doing this myself!"

Tai shrugged desperately to Sora, "I think you'd better try."

"Right." Sora nodded, then turned to Yolei and simply said, "OK."

As Yolei was drawing in enough air for her next shout, she realized what the older girl had said. The younger teen awkwardly swallowed he big breath and gasped out a new remark with confused quietness, "OK? What do you mean by OK?"

Kari answered with a determined, supportive smile. "She means OK we're helping to get Cody back. We all are."

"That's right." Tai finally got the chance to confirm. "I'm glad you know there are risks Yolei, but you shouldn't think that we'd let those risks stop us. Cody's a Digidestined, and we're all a team. That would be enough reason to do this. What's more is that he's such a great kid who's been through so much already. There's no way we wouldn't help. We know you count Cody as one of your brothers, and you always look out for him. Practically all of us can relate to that. I mean, if I was against helping, it'd be like turning my back on Kari."

"Or TK." Matt acknowledged simply.

"It's my chance to return the favor," TK said stepping up beside his brother.

"Mine too," Kari echoed, giving Tai a quick nod.

"I wouldn't be fit for the way Cody looks up to me," Joe added.

"The same assessment applies for me," offered Izzy.

"That goes double for the respect Cody always shows me," Sora admitted.

"Now that's the attitude that'll get Cody back!" Davis exhorted. "Cody may not always agree with my decisions but I like the way he knows I have an attitude for being the leader. The funny thing is that he always says I need to have it adjusted. Anyway, it looks like finding him is a total Digidestined thing, so let's do it!"

Yolei was overwhelmed by the unanimous support. "Oh, all of you are just so terrific I could cry. I won't because I want to use every second I can for Cody, but I could. So Izzy, I was hoping you could --"

Tai interrupted her. "Hold it, Yolei. We can make a plan but there have to be a couple of important conditions first, OK?"

Yolei sighed, but she knew Tai was right, so this time she listened. "OK."

"Good," a relieved Tai continued, "First, if we do track the kidnappers down or even just find information that leads in that direction, it all gets turned over to the police as soon as we're completely sure it does help. Second, when we decide something needs to be turned over, we get an adult to take it to them for us. I mean someone older than Joe too." He turned to the reliable perpetual student. "No offense, buddy."

"I hardly felt it Tai," Joe assured.

Tai turned back to Yolei, "OK?"

"OK," Yolei agreed. "That second one's going to be tough to manage though."

Izzy reassured her, sort of, "Actually Yolei, the universe of probabilities usually dictates that little problems are, in fact, more problematic than big problems. Of course, I haven't crunched any numbers on that myself."

"Sure, Izzy, I think. Speaking of little problems, how am I going to tell Upamon about Cody? For that matter, how am I going to feed Upamon?"

"You don't," TK offered suddenly, "Cody's got Upamon with him."

Everyone turned to TK, but it was Joe who asked, "Are you sure?"

TK nodded. "I know because I held Cody's backpack when he did that rock wall. He asked me not to wake Upamon. Don't ask me why he brought Upamon along. Cody wouldn't say, and I'm pretty sure that means he was worried about having to tell me the truth about it. It was like Cody expected some kind of trouble. I forgot all about that while Cody was climbing."

Izzy considered TK's revelation with a ponderous "Hmm ..." then the redheaded genius continued, thinking out loud. "I wonder how Cody imagines that Upamon could help against trouble outside of the Digital World? Maybe I'm missing something. I'll have to run some simulations." Izzy immediately busied himself with his laptop.

Yolei returned to her earlier concern. "What adult could we convince to report to the police for us? Going through someone in our families, even a non-relative who knows most of us might still attract too much attention."

"Yeah," Davis agreed, "Besides, I hate having to stay after school. Oh wait, that's detention. Whatever, it's still a problem."

Joe had a suggestion, "It's risky, but is there any adult you younger kids have recently met that might help us?"

Yolei brought her hand quickly up to her head with realization, surprise, and relief. "Sure there is Joe. Cody's substitute teacher! She seemed really nice and I can tell she hit it off with Cody right away."

Tai approved, "That might just work great. She could help us out without knowing enough about us to make too much of it. She'd also probably be long gone before too many questions get asked. Do you know her name Yolei."

The tall girl responded confidently, "Believe me, when Cody introduces someone, they stay introduced. Her name's Kani Miro. I'd call her right away, but it's bound to be a new listing only the school would have right now.

"Oh Izzy ...," Tai called out.

Izzy responded as if the request had been obvious, "I'm on it Tai. I'll have the number as soon as I can, which won't be long."

Joe came over to Yolei. "While Izzy gets the number, I have some ideas about talking to this teacher. We'll need to get her help without giving too much away. When you make the call, try putting it this way ..."

At Delton Zane's island compound, Ethan Hunt's Jace Randall escorted Cody Hida to one of the vacated quarters. They had been alone in this wing since leaving the hub of the main building, and the youngster was mildly disappointed that the disguised agent hadn't eased up with the rough handling. Cody saw that Hunt's eyes directed him to look up, and the boy realized that cameras watched the entire length of the extension. That explained the continued force, but hardly mitigated the boy's unhappiness with it.

They reached the selected room. The man keyed the door of Cody's makeshift cell open and pushed the boy inside. Cody turned to face his jailer, only to be turned back around so that Randall was seen untying the boy's hands, and Cody got a good look at where the room's camera was located. The man mockingly tossed the loosened rope at the child with its strong knot intact. That done, the assumed Randall wordlessly exited the room. Its door closed and locked again. The agent manually disabled any ability to open it from the inside. The prisoner was secure. For his part, Cody Hida looked out the narrow vertical window of his confines for a long time. The boy then removed his backpack, and placed it on the foot of the cot which was too big for him alone. Cody peeked inside his bag as if lonely for a reminder of even something so close to home as school. Finally, the youngster laid down and curled up facing away from the camera. He might have been doing all these things because he was desperate to be out of this room and truly tired He was a little of both. However, Cody Hida mostly did these things because Ethan Hunt had told him to, except for the backpack part, when Ethan-san had first discussed the plan to defeat the man Zane. The first part of the plan involved some precise waiting. The curled up Cody rested because he knew this was a brief opportunity to do so. Yet his responsibility right now was just to lie still for the next 20 minutes.

The disguised IMF agent made his way to the video control room, perfectly demonstrating Jace Randall's mechanical intensity for doing a job. He checked in with the two-man monitoring crew to confirm that the imprisoned boy was under watch. The crew assured the security chief that his prisoner was being continuously monitored. They pointed to a screen depicting an unhappy, exhausted child moping himself to sleep. Randall first leaned into the room, supporting himself on the doorway. Then he stepped inside for a closer look. He reviewed, and touched, every monitor covering that wing before settling on the the one showing the kid. The mercenary drummed his fingers on the screen. Satisfied, he told the observers to alert him in his quarters if the prisoner acted up before Zane called again.

Hunt's next destination was indeed Randall's quarters. It was one the few rooms in the entire compound not under video surveillance. That fact was poor compensation for being at Delton Zane's beck and call, but it also served the IMF agent's purposes now. Free from observation. Hunt removed pieces of miniaturized equipment smuggled here inside Jace Randall's clothes. Timing was everything, and Hunt silently counted down the remaining seconds until his first little surprise went off back in the video control room.

The micro-charge left on that room's door frame detonated. It instantly pulsed the room with a flash of energy generated at the exact inverse for human neural impulses to the voluntary muscle groups. In simple terms, the two crewmen in the room were given a living, 15 minute preview of rigor mortis. If anyone happened to be watching the control room itself all they would have seen was an instant of static on their feed, then two very steady men on the job. Next, Hunt assembled the transmitter that activated the powerful nano-bots that he had left on all the monitors he'd touched. These little beauties would first record the images on the screen for a predetermined time, then override the live feeds with the previously recorded footage. Finally, the bots would self-destruct after another set period of time to restore the live coverage. Now the pseudo-Randall had one more step to complete so no one would know that he'd be sending Cody Hida on a big errand -- destroying the Eden Device.

Cody was so intent on restfully marking the time that he was startled by the moment of nothing as the count reached zero. Then Ethan Hunt's voice, or at least the one he was currently using sounded in the tiny earpieces the youngster was still wearing. The agent called his name to get attention. Cody sat up on the cot and looked nervously toward the camera, unsure whether to answer or not. Sensing the reason for the boy's hesitation, Hunt quickly reassured him. "You can hear me and I can hear you, and I'm simultaneously changing frequencies for both of us at random, but we can only communicate this one time, and need to keep it short. Don't worry, the camera there isn't seeing you right now. It's seeing a looped recording of you lying on the cot. That's why you had to stay still for so long. You've got just a little more waiting to do, then it's time to do what we're here for. "

"Do I have time to eat something Ethan-san?" Cody asked pragmatically, "I have food with me ..." He did if Upamon hadn't lost control and eaten it all by now. There had been a very few occasions when his yellow Digimon friend had eaten stored snacks, wrappings and all. "... I just want to be sure I have time."

Ethan Hunt was so used to running on adrenaline when necessary that the child's need to eat was almost as surprising as his forethought to bring food. "Good thinking," the agent noted with equal pragmatism. "Make it quick, though. I'll go over what I want you to do one more time. It's a lot to remember but you can do it "

"Yes." Cody agreed briefly, as requested.

"Good," Hunt began. "Just listen very carefully. After I finish, I'm opening the door there and you've got to go." It certainly impressed Cody that Ethan-san had managed to take control of both the room's camera and door, but he didn't mention it because he had to listen now. It also impressed the youngster that Upamon hadn't eaten the food in the backpack, honorably giving Cody the first dibs at it. Of course, the boy didn't mention that either. The young Hida politely hoped the man didn't hear the munching sounds, or at least didn't mind them. Upamon was too hungry to eat gracefully, and frankly, so was Cody himself at the moment.

Ethan Hunt continued recapping the tasks ahead of Cody Hida. "Getting here inside Zane's compound was the only way to know how to get someone to the Eden Device. Seeing the radiating wings shows us the way. The wings here are connected by long narrow conduits for wiring and ventilation. Each conduit has floor-level grates at each end. When you leave your room turn right and you'll find a conduit grate just a few steps away. They're snug Cody, but you'll be able to push or pull them free. Understand so far?"

"I understand." The youngster acknowledged.

The agent continued. "Crawl through the conduit as quickly and quietly as you can until you get to a central hub. Think of the hub as a clock when you reach it, because you have to go through the conduit located at four o'clock to reach the lab where the Eden Device is. You'll have ten minutes to reach the lab from the time you leave the room. It should be plenty of time Even if you get there sooner, just stay put until the ten minute mark. Something will happen that will help clear your way to the device. You'll know it when it happens Cody. Wait through it for two minutes then get out of the conduit and go straight to the machine. Got that?"

"Got it." The tone of the boy's answer indicated he'd been going over this by himself, and it was familiar. He also maintained determined seriousness that remembered every importance.

"When you get to the Eden Device, you use the rope I had your hands tied with," Hunt reminded. It wasn't rope at all, but a specially designed computer cable. The "knot" in that "rope" contained a microprocessor that, when activated, would do a real number on the machine's genetic master sequencer. "Peel back the fake rope on both ends until the connectors show. Then, plug the connectors into the spaces that looked like phone jacks on the diagrams I showed you. Finally, squeeze the fake knot to make it work."

"I'll do it." Cody offered with matter-of-fact intent.

Ethan Hunt's only recognition of the child's pledge was a slight pause. "When the reprogramming is done, the fake rope and knot will destroy themselves completely. That's your signal to get out of there. Get back to the conduit, and then back to the room there as fast as you can, making sure all the grates are back in place. It has to be like you were never out. You should be back in that room thirty minutes after you leave." The IMF agent stopped, just to let the young boy absorb it all one last time. "Are you ready to go Cody?"

The small boy met the question with only a moment of thoughtfulness. Then the answer came with simple resolve, "I'm ready Ethan-san."

Hunt's last instruction came just as simply, "Then go ... now" The door to Cody's confines opened, and Cody went through it, taking everything he needed, including Upamon, with him in his backpack.

Back in Odaiba, a group of Cody Hida's closest friends arrived at his school to meet on the sly with the substitute teacher named Kani Miro. Yolei had made the call, and young Sensei Miro-san -- who didn't often bother with news stories -- had been shocked to learn of Cody's abduction. She'd agreed to Yolei's request to meet, but only at the school, which added a hint of being an adult presence to prevent well-meant but foolish risks.

It was Joe's cautious suggestion to send only some of the Digidestined to this meeting, to better keep the full scope of the Digidestined a secret. The idea certainly credited their planning, but it was outmatched by what Komi Nagamu already knew about them, and could also tell by looking. Cody Hida admired his friends greatly, and the young agent's gentle questioning of the mild boy combined with her other observations to give her a working handle on almost all the young people before her now. The oldest was named Joe, who was obviously here to be the designated grown-up for them. The redhead with the laptop had to be Izzy, computer specialist. Nagamu already knew Yolei, Kari, TK, and Davis. There was a newcomer too, a tall boy with a sadly brooding look about him. He didn't match any of the descriptions Cody had related about the people he was fond of . But, there was a single name that the youngster had spoken briefly, scowled, and then politely changed subjects. That name had been Ken, and this was indeed Ken Ichijouji with the others now. She knew the basics on him as part of being familiar with the current Japanese youth culture. He'd tailored uncanny academic demonstration into celebrity. Recently, Ichijouji had disappeared for a time himself, then returned home. He was apparently keeping a much lower profile now. The young operative understood how the other four younger kids here meshed -- they'd make an effective ground crew -- scouting the whole city if they had to, sharing information by e-mail. What did Ken Ichijouji add? Nagamu was perfectly capable of covering the thought, but it truly made her wonder.

Komi Nagamu let Cody's friends tell "Kani Miro" all about the earlier events at the Odaiba Mall. They included the good time Cody was starting to have, then led into the surprise attack that took the boy from them. Nagamu recognized that most of these young people were still shaken by what had happened to them. Openly talking about it was good for them individually, and still she admired how quickly they focused on recovering their small friend as a collective goal. Her newest task was making sure that they were played usefully, didn't fall into harm's way, and ultimately believed they'd succeeded. Doing that called for an elaborate ruse. It would play on their teamwork, causing them to follow leads that actually had nothing to do with Delton Zane, but which would eventually appear to tie him into a false set of reasons for Cody's kidnapping. Zane would be finished, these kids would be heroes, and the Eden Device? What Eden Device? Misdirecting this dedicated group of friends was actually a compliment. They could only be positioned for this useful diversion by being pretty clever players for their own purpose -- whatever that was. When the kids had finished the whole story, as far as they knew it, the IMF agent decided to casually delve for the Ichijouji boy's involvement.

She greeted all three of the ones she supposedly didn't know, before using an "oh wow, it's you" tone to continue with Ken. "It's a real honor to meet you Ken, I just wish it was under better circumstances."

The tall boy grimaced uncomfortably. His voice was softly rueful, "Please don't make so much of me. I don't want that anymore. I'm here to help Hida ... Cody. He's a ... friend." Ken was obviously a polished speaker, but the way that he called Cody his friend -- it wasn't so much a lie as perhaps something that Ken hardly believed himself. Best to accept the description and move on.

Yolei Inoue spoke up before Sensei Miro-san could apologize. The fast-talking girl apologized to the teacher instead, but the message was more for Ken's benefit than the woman's. "Oh, I'm sorry Sensei Miro-san. I should have told you we know Ken. He's just Ken to us now, so it's kind of easy to forget how adults react to him. He's one of us now, -- I mean he joins in with our computer club after school, because we know he's good at ... figuring out big plans. That's all ... and.

"Yolei." Joe called quickly His good nature in stopping her almost completely mitigated the fact that he was signaling her to stop before saying too much. "I think Ms. Miro-san understands now."

"Yes, I think so Joe. Thanks." The teacher indicated and transitioned. "Now, I think it's time somebody helps me understand what you're thinking of doing. I know it must be very hard to think of Cody being held hostage, I feel terribly for him too, and I've only known him a couple of days. I can only imagine how it hurts all of you. Wanting to do something is natural, but we have to let the police do their job ... don't we." It was an effective way to tag her remarks. That's the kind of thing adults said when they expected to be agreed with, but it remained open to some kind of alternative. Of course, the kids walked right through the door she'd left open.

"Don't worry about that Ms. Miro-san, " Joe assured. "I break out in hives just thinking about doing anything dangerous. We know the police will do their best getting Cody back. We also know that there's a lot of investigating to be done -- just getting information they can use. We think we can help, and that's all we want to do." He went on to explain that they were asking her help turning in whatever they found that mattered. The kids wanted an adult go-between so any information "got taken seriously." When Joe finished, Ken added that she could always say that whatever they gave her had been turned over to her anonymously, simply having been identified as the little boy's teacher. He noted the suggestion would, in fact, be better.

Ken Ichijouji came as close as most people get to unnerving an IMF agent. Good with big plans? She recognized a junior mastermind when she saw one. Nagamu quickly arrived at some secret conclusions about the morose, and stately boy prodigy. Observation told her that tension existed between Cody Hida and Ken Ichijouji -- they could barely say each other's name without displeasure. The main thing that could prompt that kind of negative from Cody was persistent and intentional wrongness -- at least as the youngster saw it. Yet, here Ken was, and fully supported by Yolei. Had Cody's regular circle reached out to someone the small boy might consider to be "bad" as a way to match wits with the bad people who took their friend? There was probably something to that stunning notion. Of course, there was "bad", and then there was Delton Zane. He was evil, and what kid could match that?

Kani Miro agreed. She was glad they weren't considering anything more dangerous, and would do what she could as long as they promised not to go any farther than planned. Once they did promise, Nagamu purposefully became one of those adults who think they're "in" with the kids they know. The young people naturally humored her assumption. Yolei started by explaining what she'd heard from the gruffly rude Interpol agent who'd talked to Mrs. Hida. Ken suggested finding information on any such radical groups operating locally, then trying to determine if one or more of those groups could have pulled off what happened at the mall. The older boy Izzy began to work on his laptop with the manner of a concert virtuoso. He was going to start with the widest possible search parameters, then narrow it down. That's when a lucky coincidence with Kani Miro came to light. She'd recently attended a seminar on radical group dynamics. She could offhandedly direct Izzy to newsgroups that followed a handful of them -- even some of the less pleasant groups. Izzy welcomed the suggestions, and was soon hitting pay dirt -- finding the clues that Komi Nagamu wanted him to find.

Cody's friends were going get all the investigation they proved they could handle. There would be passwords to break, leads to follow, and proof to find -- all courtesy of IMF. Yet, it wasn't an aimless busywork diversion either. When Ethan Hunt had revealed Quint Morgan's duplicity, the revelation came with a hunch that Zane would eventually use Morgan to threaten certain remote Japanese business partners, put off by the kidnapping of a young boy. It didn't happen often, but when IMF had to counter IMF it was like jamming electronic signals. The "wave" of the opposing action had to be disrupted. Soon, these kids would be hounding those very businessmen -- thinking they were funding a coalition of radical groups behind Cody Hida's abduction. Their pestering would attract protective layers of public scrutiny. Quint might still be able to strike at them, but not without taking time he didn't have. As good as Quint Morgan was he wasn't that good.

The meeting at the school broke up as Izzy headed back to his home for some cryptographic reference materials, while Joe dispersed the others around town to follow the leads already uncovered. They thanked the substitute teacher for her help. When they had something meaningful to turn over Yolei would be back in touch. Kani Miro sent them on their way with best wishes and stern instructions to be careful. Then Komi Nagamu contacted Paige Brooke to report that their "external resources" were successfully deployed. The young agent thought about Ethan Hunt and Cody Hida. They'd be at the mission's most critical stage by now. She silently hoped both the man and boy could somehow feel how the battle against Delton Zane had been joined.


	9. Mission Findings

Mission: Impossible -- The Hida Factor:

AN: Yes, I know that my chapters show up just about as frequently as new seasons of the "Sopranos". Be that as it may, I resisted the urge to post this early in an "in progress" form. Be advised -- a lot happens in this chapter. I wanted it to be seen in its complete form, and I hope you'll find it's been worth the wait. Why has that wait been so long. Three reasons: 1) Writing is a hobby, a hobby I love, but still a hobby. I can only write when everything else I do leaves time to write 2) Writing is sometimes hard. First you have to think through what to write and how to write, even then inspiration to write might be elusive. 3) I participate in local politics, and the 2004 election season ate three months of my time. I will finish this story as soon as I can. The rest of this year I'll work on what will be my fourth (believe it or not) annual Cody Christmas story. Thanks to my beta reader "Timp" and my other readers: "Opus J", "Code", and "Super Tiny Guy". Just knowing they're out there waiting on updates drives me along to finally finish chapters ... like this one. Enjoy! -- BM

Chapter 9: Mission Findings

Cody Hida was more concerned with feeling his way steadily through the access conduit he was in than in feeling reassured. He didn't like the tight strands of wiring he could see running along on either side of him in the dim illumination provided by inset light strings. The casing of those wires glinted the low light like the skin of long snakes he couldn't see the rest of. Still, the conduit was built to allow repairs by full-grown men. There was plenty of room for a ... slightly undersized boy, even with a backpacked Digimon. Such practical considerations made the pragmatic youngster feel better, and kept him going.

He was making steady, cautious progress. Cody only came to brief stops when he heard passing voices in the halls outside his pre-fabricated tunnel. Mostly, he went quickly and quietly -- as instructed. Soon, Cody saw some wideness and a little more light ahead of him. It had to be the hub, and the realization encouraged the young Hida to move just a little faster until he reached it. The hub was rounded, which Cody supposed was a good thing for a hub to be. The extra light came from a double set of the inset strings that lit the shafts. There were six conduit ports numbered in clock position by twos: two, four, six, eight, ten and twelve. Cody was in the "six" position looking across at "twelve". The boy was about to crawl forward and turn to enter the conduit at "four" when something else in the hub caught his attention.

Cody saw built-in computer data ports above each conduit entrance. These had adapter plugs for various kinds of portable equipment. They reminded the small boy of the time he'd first showed Upamon one of his hand-held electronic study games, it had an adapter plug too. He'd run the game for his new Digimon friend trying to demonstrate its features properly. Before Cody could stop him, Upamon had taken the adapter plug in his mouth. The game went haywire, then needed to be rebooted. That's how Cody learned that Upamon could "eat" computer data. Of course, the youngster now understood that Upamon would eat just about anything and lots of it. Cody knew he was ahead of Hunt's schedule, and thinking of the way he and his Digimon partner experienced things together made him feel less afraid now. He was about to take a moment to reach behind, lift the flap of his backpack, and give Upamon a peek at the adapters -- maybe even risk a careful whisper about the good memory they evoked. However, Cody quickly became aware of outside voices that were close and getting closer. Two men were talking as they approached. They had to be local employees because they were speaking Japanese, and the young Hida was glad of that. Their intentions were clear, and got the boy moving again in a hurry.

"Come on," one of them rushed the other. "This place is shorthanded for some reason nobody's talking about, and they're reassigning us to some security duties."

His companion was apparently happier with their previous work. "Just a minute. I'm going to get into the hub for a second and calibrate that relay I told you about."

Cody scrambled to complete his turn and move up the number four conduit before the man bent down to take the grate away from the hub's central access point. The boy instinctively stopped moving when he heard the man set the cover on the floor. Cody was almost sure that the man didn't have an angle to see him, but a very long moment passed before the youngster heard the men's voices again.

"Don't bother with that. If we don't get there in the next few minutes we'll wind up walking the compound's perimeter," the eager man noted.

"You're right, " the other man agreed. "I'll do it later." That man put the grate back into place, then both men walked away. Cody, both relieved and freshly scared, refrained from gasping to keep moving. The youngster mentally chided himself for an almost costly lost of focus. Talking to Upamon would have to wait, and as soon as the fear passed the boy remembered that he'd have that chance while waiting for the diversion Ethan-san promised to get him to the terrible Eden Device. Cody kept going while reviewing everything he still had to do again. He was determined to keep it all straight, and he would not stop again until he was where Ethan Hunt wanted him to be.

The security reassignments that fortunately prevented the technician's attempted repair were actually part of the diversion Ethan Hunt planned. The best part of Delton Zane's manpower was captured along with the real Jace Randall back at the mall. Now Hunt, as Randall, would use that shortage as a reason to use nearly every other man left on the island for makeshift details at high alert. In reality, Hunt was focusing on those who were familiar with the area housing the Eden Device, then getting them as far from it as possible. Only the scientists that Zane had at the device itself would remain. Once the IMF agent had these others pushed out -- and thoroughly worried -- clearing the rest would follow naturally. All this would infuriate Zane, and rouse his always paranoid suspicion, but it would give Cody the only narrow window of opportunity there would be to destroy the weapon.

A few stragglers arrived to complete the assembly. The fabricated Randall took charge, addressing the group in English, the compound's language of operation. "As of right now all you men are reassigned to compound security under my direct command. Our employer, Mr. Zane acquired a special resource earlier today. Getting that resource depleted the security roster here, but Mr. Zane doesn't have a problem with that because he has what he wanted. I realize few of you have what I'd consider elite combat training. Not to worry, with the offensive phase completed you'll only have to be concerned with defending the compound. There's a reasonable chance that the expected opposition won't locate this facility before Mr. Zane completes his business here."

After such "reassurances" one poor soul among Randall's new recruits somehow found the courage to ask what kind of opposition they might be facing. Then another man wanted to know what Zane's coveted resource was. Quickly all the men registered some degree of curiosity thinly layered over building apprehension. Ethan Hunt smiled inwardly, well below the tense consideration he portrayed on Randall's face. The disguised agent spoke more cautiously, appearing to take these men into confidence. "I'll tell you all this one time, if only for saving your own skins, if it comes to that. Mr. Zane had me acquire a little boy." Many of the men laughed, but Randall stared them down to confused silence.

He brought his hand down to indicate Cody Hida's height. "The kid stands about this tall, dark hair and green eyes. You should all hope that you never see him. If you do, take my advice, stay away from him. If you notice the boy watching you in any way, pray that he has reasons to think you'd be nice to him. The kid's harmless himself, but he has very special friends. The only things I can really tell you about the group we're up against is that they really, really want the boy back and that they won't go easy on anyone taking part in hurting him. Believe me, I know what it took to get that kid here, and I wouldn't go near the boy again if I didn't have to."

Hunt secretly assessed the group's reaction with a professional satisfaction bordering on savoring. The men amassed in front of him were already quietly grumbling about Zane's willingness to make them all expendable serving his own ends. It was a reality the IMF leader had given a worrisome edge, but still a reality. They'd also be seeing mysterious, superior invaders behind every rock and tree on their patrols. Most satisfying of all, if any of these men stumbled on Cody Hida out in the open, they'd probably run from him like mad. Now, Hunt would send them off in pairs on long patrols, letting the "pep talk" work over time. "I see most of you have already paired with someone. Those of you who haven't, find one now while I assign patrol areas."

Toward the back of the assembly, one member of a particular pair spoke. "Mr. Randall, are you sure you need all of us for these patrols? So many of us belong to the special sector, and were just gearing up for something important. It was some project of Mr. Zane's. I'm not sure he'd appreciate the delays."

Hunt's "Randall" took the man's remarks in stride, and dealt with them bluntly. "If you want Mr. Zane's project to go as smoothly as I do you'll go on patrol. I noticed you and your partner got here late, mind telling me what the hold up was?"

The chided man replied hesitantly. "We ... I was about to work on a relay in the hub that connects all the service conduits."

The imposter Randall didn't miss a beat. "You and your partner are assigned the perimeter patrol. If you learn to pick up the pace out there you might get back here before dark."

The troublemaker's partner vented his displeasure. "Ah man, I told you so!"

As the new patrols on Zane's island reluctantly began, a more intensely pursued search was reluctantly drawing to a close in the financial district of downtown Odaiba. The rest of the newer Digidestined waited at the district's large, central water fountain. Joe would be along soon with their ride. They would have just enough time to bring their other friends up to speed before they absolutely had to be home.

Yolei glanced impatiently at Kari, who was waiting on an e-mail from Izzy. Hopefully, the redheaded genius would tell them that what they had tracked down this afternoon actually meant something -- anything that might find Cody. The tall girl had managed a brave front while pressing a lot of rather imposing business people about as much information as possible for their "school research project". Now, her outer toughness was wearing thin because the afternoon sun was already low, and it would be dark too soon. The thought of a night without Cody safely at home with his family gnawed at her spirit, welling up all the desperation she'd fought since leaving the mall. Yolei got up and paced around the fountain like the second hand of a watch wound too tight. Each time around she stopped by Kari, but with nothing yet to show, the younger girl could only smile supportively. Yolei fumed, grumbled, and started to pace her next circle. Davis and TK stood next to each other, watching Yolei and safely keeping their distance. Ken stood with the other boys for a while, but then he decided to intercept the pacing teen and talk to her.

"Yolei ... He'll be OK." He said it so gently. When Ken had been the Digimon Emperor he'd made so many bombastic assertions about his own power and greatness. It had never registered until the end that no one believed those things but him. It made Ken wonder how any of these Digidestined would ever trust the statements he offered. In fact, that was his exact problem with the young Hida ... with Cody. Yet, it was the tall boy's contrite uncertainty, fashioned from reclaimed gentle kindness that told Yolei Inoue that Ken was sincere, and really did believe Cody would be safe.

"Oh Ken," her reply was on the verge of tears. "He just has to be! You know the crazy thing about this is that I've never worried one bit about Cody in the Digital World, not even when you were at your worst ... I mean ... I mean, I don't mean ... I, urgh!"

Ken reached out and took her hand. "I understand Yolei. What were you saying about Cody?"

"That I've never worried about Cody in the Digital World. He's such a realist for his age, but he's one with all the intensity of a kid. It's like he's been too real to let the Digital World get him. Here in the real world is different. I'm afraid Cody really knows that life can be sad ... that life can end when its not supposed to."

The ex-Emperor nodded because he understood those same truths. "When Cody's back, and he will be back, I really need to talk to him, but for right now I want to tell you something I hope makes you feel better. When I was the Digimon Emperor, doing battle with all of you, I wanted to defeat you badly -- even to the point of really hurting you. Seeing Cody on your side infuriated me, especially whenever he said things about right and wrong. He just has this way of making the wrongs so clear. You say that Cody's known the pain of life cut short. I do too. I'll tell you, all of you, about that ... when I'm ready. I suddenly understand why Cody's always upset me ... and why he'll make it through this."

Yolei asked kindly, "Why Ken?" She had a great natural capacity for sympathy, and the realities behind Ken Ichijouji's stunning candor obviously troubled him. Whatever he was offering about himself affirmed his belief that Cody was going to be OK, and she couldn't wait to hear it.

"I realize all that time I was jealous of Cody. I should have known he'd suffered a loss, it's in his eyes. There was something else with it though, something he kept that I threw away. That's his innocence. If it seems his sense of reality protects him in the Digital World then it's not hard to imagine that his innocence protects him anywhere. It draws people to him, people to care about him, people like you, Yolei. If there's anyone at all with a sense of right and decency where he is now, they'll want to protect him. Cody will be OK."

Yolei struggled to smile through her worried expression. "Thanks Ken. I feel as better as I think I can get right now. I really appreciate what you've said, and the way you've come out to help. We probably wouldn't have made it farther than the lobbies of the businesses we've been to without you, you know. Those big shots all wanted their picture taken with you. I know that you don't like that kind of attention much anymore, and you were great to put up with it for Cody's sake. I know he'll appreciate it."

Ken sighed, "I know. He'll bow and pledge to honor the obligation."

Yolei nodded. "That's what Cody does. When this is over, and you really want to talk to him, I'll negotiate him into it. It's not always easy, but I've got a way that almost never fails."

"Oh?," Ken asked with quiet curiosity. "What way is that?"

"I'll show you," she confided and demonstrated. "I bring my face as close as I can to his, almost touching, like ours are now. Then I smile so big that my eyes scrunch up behind my glasses, like this. Then I ask him to do something. It almost never fails.

"Never?" Ken asked in a whisper, seeming even nearer to her now.

"Never." Yolei answered with her own whisper, keeping her face a breath's from Ken's. They couldn't be any closer to each other unless they ...

"Geeze!" Davis yelled loudly, "Why don't you two just kiss and get it over with!" Ken blushed suddenly and pulled back shyly. Yolei blushed too, then boiled even redder with anger. She turned and began marching toward Davis. She intended to stuff his goggles right down his throat.

Just before the endangered leader started to make his own laps around the fountain, Kari saved him in the only way she could or would. "Hey Yolei, Izzy's e-mail is here."

The tall teen girl diverted from springing on Davis, and sprang to Kari's side instead. "What's he say? What's he say?"

"Hold on," Kari noted. "He sent a link to video chat. OK Izzy, you're on."

"Why thank you Kari," Izzy replied on the small screen of Kari's D-Terminal. "I hope my reception is good, not to mention my ratings."

Yolei wanted answers, not jokes. "Come on Izzy, tell us how your analysis is coming "

Izzy nodded. "Right. In a word, prodigiously! In several words ..." the redhead cleared his throat and began a more formal presentation. "... As you know, we older kids have been exploring the motives and capabilities of the fringe radical groups that the man from Interpol might have meant when talking to Mrs. Hida. We paid particular attention to how their money came in. You younger set went down to the business district to investigate leads that suggested a connection in a kind of covert funding a lot of group e-literature bragged about, charitable laundering. You dug into where businesses might be sending money out. Naturally, I've taken on the task of putting both pieces together, and the results are remarkable! Of course, I could wait to explain more when we're all back together at Joe's university."

Yolei growled into Kari's inset microphone. "Izzy!"

The Digidestined's computer master gulped. "However, since Yolei previously threatened to crash my laptop's hard drive -- over several city blocks -- if I did that, I'll be happy to preview my findings now. Thanks to some heavy duty code breaking we've found, a support clearinghouse of information on radical financing that celebrated the Omega Alpha chapter of some organization called New Epsilon as a recent and generous source of money for radical groups willing to partner with others if at New Epsilon's request. Does any of that sound familiar?

TK spoke up, "Hey, sure it does. We saw the same organization as one that a lot of the businesses we visited were funding with donations. I'm sure it was the same, only it was listed briefly as Omega Alpha, New Epsilon."

"Not just a lot of them TK ..." Izzy corrected knowingly, "... all of them."

Ken drew closer to make a necessary point "Izzy, does that really tell us anything? All of those businesses have probably donated to common charities."

"Most likely, that's true Ken, but there's more to it than that. This middleman organization, Omega Alpha, of New Epsilon is the key. It's one thing to have common business donors, it's another to use those donations like these were. Each donation sent from particular businesses was distributed in total to different fringe groups that specialize in particular forms of disruption. Get a load of what those were too: one for public events disruption, another for property damage with low-yield explosives, the largest amounts went to some tough quasi-military setups."

"You know, that's sounds an awful lot like the way Mom and Dad budget things out at the store," Yolei commented. Then the realization hit her, "Is that what your saying this thing is, a budget?"

"Exactly, Yolei!" Izzy confirmed. "I believe whatever Omega Alpha of New Epsilon is, it took in donations and made them into a single budget -- departmentalizing the specialties of local radical groups to carry out a single operation, the attack on the mall."

"Nice work Izzy!" Davis congratulated. "Tell us how to find this New Epsilon place, and we are so there dude!"

Izzy stammered, but continued. "That's where a glitch might be problematic." Yolei demanded to know what his glitch was. The older boy told them that he hadn't found anything on their newest target that had anything to do with its public enterprises. In fact, he'd seen only one web page that dared to reveal anything more than the name. That page itself was very mysterious, describing things in veiled references like discussing the structure of a secret fraternal order. There was mention of numerical degrees within the membership, the "eternal minutes" needed to reveal them, directional symbolism, and jargon about "finding one's way." That was it.

Davis captured everyone's frustration. "No way, not when we're so close! Man, I hate all that secret order stuff. My Dad was in this fraternity in college and he thinks it's so cool, but I just don't get it. It's all Greek to me." The rest of the Chosen Children around him groaned. Suddenly, Ken was jolted by a thought.

"Davis, that's ... brilliant!" The former Emperor leaned down and urgently communicated his breakthrough. "Izzy, I think the name of that organization tells us something important. Omega and Alpha are obviously Greek letters. So is Epsilon, and there's a Greek letter called Nu. What if there's a double meaning?"

"Hmm ... " Izzy pondered. "English is a common language of business world-wide. Let's convert those Greek letters into their English counterparts. Omega is Z, Alpha is A, of course."

Ken nodded and supplemented, "Nu equates with N, and Epsilon with E. Z-A-N-E, Zane.

"Zane." Izzy agreed.

"Yeah, Zane." Davis added. "Who's Zane?"

"Who, indeed?" Izzy wondered. "It does sound like someone's name, and a new lead. Ken, do you have any other great ideas?"

Ken thought for a long moment more. Then he smiled. "Just one, look at all those numbers on that mysterious web page. I'd be willing to bet they're map coordinates."

That news startled Yolei. "You think those numbers point to a place? That has to be where Cody is!"

Izzy tried to keep her expectations in check. "We still have to check on that Yolei, and find out if there even is such a person as this Zane we've imagined."

Yolei was emphatic "Well, start checking!" Then Joe drove up to the curb and honked his horn for them. "Don't stop talking Izzy, I'll be there soon."

The air near end of the number four conduit became noticeably colder. Cody Hida understood that scientific places often needed to be cooler than usual. Still, the small boy couldn't help feeling like he was approaching something more dangerous and evil because of the chill. He reached the grate at the end of the conduit. Cody couldn't see much activity through the narrow slits in the grate. The room on the other side was large, with widely spaced consoles, monitors, and other equipment. He didn't hear much going on either, but that didn't mean there weren't people in there working quietly. Somewhere in there was the dreaded Eden Device. Whatever was supposed to clear his way to it hadn't happened yet, because Ethan-san had said the boy would know when it did. Cody wasn't usually stressed by having to wait, or by having tasks to accomplish. However, the day's long back and forth of waiting then doing was starting to bother him. It would really help to talk to Upamon. Of course that meant matching quiet with quiet, but there was no better pair for that than Cody and his partner. After all, the only way a nine year-old living in an apartment, with a lovingly overprotective Mom and a lovingly scrutinizing Grandpa, could secretly keep and befriend a Digital being was doing so quietly.

The youngster shifted noiselessly from his knees to a compact sitting position. Cody slipped off his backpack, and sat it snugly in front of him. He opened the backpack. It was probably safest to keep Upamon in the pack in case Ethan-san's diversion came quickly. Upamon didn't mind. The little yellow Digimon was just glad to see Cody, and to have a chance to keep up his human partner's spirits. They spoke in the slightest whispers, but their bond was so strong now that they understood each other perfectly.

"Hi Cody, so far so good, huh?" Upamon began positively.

"We made it this far Upamon." Cody noted matter-of-factly. "Are you doing OK in the backpack all this time? I'm sorry you have to hide in there for so long."

"I'm fine with it," his Digimon partner assured "I wanted to come today, so I knew I'd be hiding a lot. So what happens next?"

"Ethan-san will get the people out of that room ahead of us somehow, then I'll plug something into the Eden Device that will ruin it for keeps," Cody explained.

"Oh, that's great Cody," Upamon approved. However the Digimon caught, really sensed more than saw, a strangely conflicted look cross the youngster's face. "What's wrong Cody?"

The small boy checked a desire to sigh in favor of silence. Upamon always cared about the way Cody really felt. If talking with his Digimon friend couldn't prevent certain feelings, it always made having those feelings OK. "I've been thinking a lot about the Eden Device, and how it has part of my Dad inside it."

"Oh." Upamon considered simply, but the little yellow being knew that Cody's deep thoughts about his father were often unsettling. "But you're going to take care of that Cody, and then that bad machine won't have any part of your Dad anymore." The Digimon saw his partner's hands clinch into fists, and felt how the gesture only represented a sob they could not afford.

"I know Upamon ...," Cody gritted out very quietly, " ... and that's just it. I didn't know that any part of my Dad was still here ... still alive in some way. Now that has to go away. My Dad will be completely gone again ... and I have to do it. That's not fair Upamon, not when I've wanted Dad back more than anything. How can I honestly make him go away now?

Upamon's dark eyes practically glowed with sympathy. "Gee Cody, do you know what I think is really unfair?" The boy only shook his head sideways in muted emotional pain before his partner continued. "I think it's not fair that bad people using part of your Dad can make you feel that way. Cody, you can't make your Dad go away because he's part of you. I guess he was from at least the day you were born. The way that he's with you is way better than part of him being in that nasty thing out there. That bad man Zane isn't using what he has from your Dad to take care of you, or your family, or anybody else -- but I know you are, every day Cody. Your Dad would be really, really proud of you for that. Zane might have a physical piece of your Dad, but only because he has it trapped. " Cody grimaced, upset by Upamon's insistence. The Digimon's final point would be hard to take, but the boy had to accept it to be ready to finish the current evil for keeps. "The bad guy could only have a physical part of your Dad because your Dad was hurt so bad that he died. Your family put the physical part of your Dad to rest Cody. It's time to release the part that Zane has and let that go in peace too. See, you aren't making your Dad go away, you're finally setting all of him free. That's what I believe Cody. I hope you can believe that too."

The young Hida wiped his eyes. The idea of his Dad being trapped in a hurtful, prolonged way stung the boy far more than Upamon intended, but Cody understood that the Digimon was telling the truth. "Thanks, Upamon. I do believe that. Since that's what I'm really doing, then having to do it isn't just a duty, it will be my honor as a son. I think I'd better close the backpack now. Whatever Ethan-san's going to do, he'll be doing it soon. Is that OK with you?"

"No problem Cody," Upamon assured. Cody nodded, and re-secured his Digimon friend.

The youngster's sense timing was rewarded in an alarming way. Short buzzer blasts sounded over the compound's speaker system. Cody hurried the backpack back on, then he laid out flat and face down in the conduit. He imagined demands to recapture a certain small escaped prisoner. What could he do if that was it? Cody took a deep, calming breath. The only way to know for sure was to listen. The buzzer sounds stopped and a voice began. It was Jace Randall's voice, but Ethan Hunt's announcement:

"Attention special sector! Attention special sector! This is Security Chief Randall. This compound is immediately on high security alert. It is necessary to assess the special sector's operative response time to a full lockdown in the event of a compound breech. All remaining special sector personnel must evacuate that area now. You have two minutes to clear the special sector before the doors are sealed and the entire area is pumped with sedative gas. The special sector will be closed and gassed for five minutes, then fully vented an. additional five minutes. All special alarm systems will be activated. Upon returning, essential sector personnel must make up the lost time on all projects. The evacuation time begins now."

Cody first usual rule about listening to adults was that they were telling the truth. By now, the boy understood how that rule did and did not apply to Ethan Hunt. Two minutes was the exact time the boy had been told to wait before going ahead into the room, and the total of ten minutes was the time he'd have in the room alone. However, he guessed there would be no gas and no alarms if Ethan-san had anything to do with the situation which, of course, he did. The youngster started counting down the time again.

As Cody Hida counted minutes, Delton Zane spent those same minutes in his compound office. Zane angrily communicated with the chief scientist assigned to the filtering modifications for the Eden Device. The scientist was disgruntled with the surprise drill requiring the special sector's evacuation, and had peevishly contacted the kingpin assassin to huff a complaint. The complainer was unprepared for Zane's furious reaction, not to the complaint, but to learning of the evacuation itself. Delton Zane seethed and raged while demanding details the hapless scientist had assumed were known. The frightened man gave all the information he could like his life depended on it, and he knew all too clearly how accurate that sense might be. No one was ever so glad to hear a phone slammed down as the only penalty for providing displeasing news. Abusing the phone on the desk sated Zane's fury just long enough to allow him to take a dedicated cell phone from the inner pocket of his suit coat. He hit a button on the phone that dialed the only number it was programmed to call. When the ringing stopped Zane spoke the single word, "Report." What he heard in reply boiled his blood again.

"Not good," Quint Morgan informed. "Your business pals have decided to get away from it all. Phone records indicate that some heavy investors with each of them have been spooked by contacts from Interpol making inquiries into similar research and development grants among them. Naturally, these contacts were supposed to be confidential, but insider trading here makes New York look like the minor leagues. Of course, the investors turned right around and pressured your bigwigs. That, combined with what they know of you and your operations, motivated them all to put together a quickie business summit at a mountain compound with triple security. It seems to me that you weren't very careful about covering your financial tracks Delton."

Zane growled his reply. "That's utter nonsense! I don't know what Interpol thinks it's looking at, but there was no discernable pattern to trace in my financing. The way I had it done it would be next to impossible to associate anything at all, which leads me to suspect that your former colleagues have everything to do with the appearances to the contrary."

Morgan dared to laugh. "Not likely, Delton. The disappearance of the boy should have thoroughly compromised Ethan's field leadership. My departure leaves them short-handed, and torn between worrying about me and worrying about what I might be doing. If IMF is creating a sham financial path back to you, well it's a thing of beauty, because the hidden connections seem so obvious that a bunch of kids are putting the pieces together."

"What?!" Zane demanded .

"That's right," the traitor agent revealed with a growing amused tone. "A little group of little Hida's little friends paid visits to all the right places this afternoon. It was cute. Shortly after they made their rounds your business buddies split town."

"I see!" Delton Zane roared, then suddenly grasped vocal calm. "Return to the compound here immediately, if you please Quint."

The turncoat operative wasn't going to be intimidated. "Don't get bombastic with me Delton. You want the suits reminded not to sell you out, and I can still do it. It will just take me longer. You and I have a history here, so don't talk to me like I'm that hired flunky you have in Randall, because I've put too much on the line!"

"My dear Quint, I realize all of that. I'm calling you in because I need you here. If my suspicions are correct, then we'll need to dispose of Randall ahead of schedule. I'll deal with my former business associates. By going on their trip, they've all volunteered for the Eden Device's first practical demonstration." Zane added a menacing edge to his already sinister voice. "Now, get back here!" Morgan had the courtesy and good sense to let Zane finish before terminating the connection.

Delton Zane stuffed his cell phone back into his suit coat with an annoyed thrust. He was just about to use the compound's intercom channel to summon Jace Randall to his office when Randall walked in of his own accord. "We need to talk Mr. Zane." The American mercenary nervously insisted.

Zane responded with a deliberate, dangerous nod. "Yes, Mr. Randall. Indeed, I think we do."

Ethan Hunt knew that Delton Zane would quickly hear about the patrols and evacuation that had cleared the special sector housing the Eden Device. Zane would construe a plot and contemplate having Randall's head on a stake just as quickly. Still, Cody Hida needed all the time possible to complete the disabling of the hideous weapon, so Randall had to go before Zane, but not confront him. Hunt had to convince his target that Randall's arrival was motivated by fear, weakness, and indecision. That would inflate Zane's already enormous ego while diminishing notions of Randall's ability to be a threat, especially any idea that Randall was not Randall at all. Hunt knew he could play the game as long as Zane might let him, but the agent also new that young Cody had to hurry.

A pair of small hands gripped the slats of the wall grate in front of them. The obstacle eased gently out of position to be nudged aside with quiet care. Cody Hida emerged from the conduit opening. He paused just long enough to get his bearings and stamp some feeling back into his now uncoiled legs. The boy's attention first fell on the heavy metal barrier over a place on the far wall where the large room's only door should be. He followed the path of similar coverings slammed down over windows around the opposite wall. Cody's sweeping gaze finally brought him around to see a sight that honestly filled his young heart with cold fear. There, in the front part of the room, he recognized the Eden Device. The youngster now found it to be the central component of an ominous unit designed for some kind of clinical procedure. Cody stared wide-eyed at the child-sized examination table nestled between what appeared to be giant battery nodes. The table had been modified to include sturdy restraining straps. The battery nodes were mounted on a gear track that could draw them over the table, and whoever happened to be strapped down to it, with unmerciful slowness. The child had the merest inkling of what Delton Zane had planned for him, and it was enough to tempt Cody to look back toward the open conduit and consider running for his life.

Instead, Cody mentally ordered himself not to run away. He refocused on the hated Eden Device and stared hard at it. That was the only thing here he had to be afraid of. That was the the thing that kept part of his Dad trapped, and Cody had the ability to prevent it from ever working again, if he was just brave enough to do his duty as planned. Cody Hida was a dutiful boy with all the bravery life had demanded of him so far. When the boy let himself move again, it was toward the Eden Device and with firm purpose. Cody found the phone jack ports that Ethan-san had told him to look for. Next, he opened his backpack and allowed Upamon to fish the special knot tool out for him. The youngster prepared the ends of the tool exactly as instructed and plugged them into the ports. Cody took a deep breath. "This is for you Dad. I miss you, but I know you're with me in spirit ... I can feel it, so I can let this part of you go now." The small boy squeezed the knot firmly. He didn't know what to expect, so to be safe he grabbed his backpack and moved back to watch from a safe distance.

During Cody's moment of decision, Ethan Hunt's own stand for time played out in Delton Zane's office. The exchange between the European maniac and his assumed minion ranged wildly between Zane's suspicious interrogation and Jace Randall's apprehensive certainty that IMF was about to close in on them at any time. Randall kept edgily suggesting they abandon Japan as quickly as possible, taking only the Eden Device and the Hida boy, before it was too late. Of course, such a suggestion infuriated Delton Zane. Ethan Hunt had correctly hypothesized how Jace Randall's earlier insistence on doing the most expedient things would have clashed against Zane's grandiose sense of style. This bit of simpering was just a continuation. It was an expected, if somewhat rapid, collapse of nerve by a lesser man who was realizing how far in over his head he actually was. Zane indicated his complete belief in that offered reality with every mocking taunt he could verbally hurl Randall's way. Every time the berated underling tried to speak up for himself, Zane's rage boiled over and spewed again. Hunt kept him going like that, as if feeding a length of rope down a dark hole very slowly. Every moment Delton Zane ranted was another moment Cody Hida had at his disposal.

The end was very anticlimactic, considering all the boy had endured. Once activated, Ethan Hunt's special tool only whirred for a few minutes with an almost inaudible hum. When the hum stopped there were a few quiet clicks. Then poof! The tool was gone in a nearly silent hiss and a little smoke. Still, Cody Hida didn't waste time being either disappointed or overjoyed. He urged Upamon to get low in the backpack, so he could secure its opening and they could get going right away. The Digimon asked Cody why. Upamon wasn't always good at calculating human time, but surely his young partner was way ahead of schedule. The digital being wanted his human friend to rest a couple of minutes. The child certainly deserved that.

Cody explained quickly as he carried the backpack, Upamon included, back to the conduit and set it inside the opening ahead of him. "I'd like to rest Upamon, but I think Ethan-san might be in real danger." The youngster anticipated his Digimon's natural question, and kept going so it didn't have to be asked. "I think so because I saw how important the man Zane thinks that Eden Device is. If something was that important to me, I think I'd be a little upset if someone left it unattended, so I bet that guy Zane is really mad about it." Cody continued explaining as he backed himself into the conduit and repositioned the grate, but he adjusted his voice to its most quiet whisper. "I have to think that the only reason that the man Zane isn't at this room right now checking on the machine is because Ethan-san must be delaying him. If Zane can't check on it, the next thing he'd want to check on is ... me. See, I don't think that I have the time Ethan-san wanted me to have, and neither does Ethan-san. I think we have to make some time Upamon, by ourselves."

"How are we going to do that Cody?," Upamon whispered up as the boy finally began closing the backpack flap.

"I have an idea, Upamon. We've got to hurry. Just try to work up a big appetite by the time we get back to the hub, OK?" The Digimon could only wonder at what Cody meant as the small boy slipped the backpack on, secured it to him, and got moving as fast as he could safely go.

Delton Zane smugly let the last shout of his latest tirade ring off the walls of his office. He followed this with a show of physically composing himself from anger in a series of overdone gestures. "Now, Mr. Randall, I seem to need to reassure you that I'm not a totally unreasonable man. You are obviously out of your depth when it comes to facing the IMF. I reasonably believe that, and it's something that hardly surprises me. Let me reasonably tell you what we will do about that. You and I will go, right now, and collect that brat from the room where you locked him. If we happen to find him there, then we'll take him over to the Eden Device. Once the machine is operational as I need it to be, I'll give you account access for all the money you've been promised. After that, you may leave this compound and go anywhere that it is the pathetically unimaginative go to remain that way. However, ..." Zane let the single word hang between them as a promising threat. "If the Hida whelp isn't where you put him, if there is the slightest indication that he's budged the door a fraction of an inch, I'll kill you myself right before the boy's eyes. Tell me, doesn't that sound like a reasonable course of action?"

"As long as I get my money, that's reason enough for me, always has been Mr. Zane," The counterfeit Randall declared with forced bravado. "Let's get going." Ethan Hunt knew that the only choice Delton Zane was offering Jace Randall was death sooner versus death later. He adopted an appropriately worried look, but it was far from his real concern at the moment. Unless Cody Hida was easily ahead of schedule, there were solid chances of the men arriving at his converted cell either before the boy could make it back or as he was in the process of getting into the room again. If it ultimately came down to it, Hunt would simply neutralize Zane, and the idea of doing so was far from displeasing. There were two complications in that contingency. One was the fact that a living but discredited Zane would neutralize the entire network of international criminals associated with him. The second problem was the boy himself. Cody would be exposed to the harshest aspect of IMF work, possibly even having to witness Hunt taking Zane out. The potential effect on Cody's sustaining innocence was the truly gnawing variable. Zane knew the compound too well to stall him any longer. The disguised Hunt led Zane without hesitation, and the IMF agent resolved to do what he had to do. Each quick step they took made having to do it more and more likely. Ethan Hunt didn't know it yet, but young Cody Hida was just about to do something to change the situation completely.

Cody was already back at the hub, and was very glad to be there. The youngster hoped he had thought about what he was going to do enough, and in the correct order. He didn't have time to adjust any of it now. He hurried his backpack off, opened it and got Upamon out. In motions he had pre-planned only minutes ago, Cody set Upamon down gently and pressed a finger to his own lips to ask his Digimon friend to remain silent. When Upamon nodded, the boy turned his attention to the relay wires plugged into all the port stations above each conduit radiating from the hub. If Cody was reading the maintenance diagrams on each port station correctly, then he had identified all the relay wires for the compound's perimeter alarm system. The young Hida unplugged all these wires, grateful that there was enough slack in them to reach where he needed to get them, and offered them to Upamon like they were so many fruit drink straws. He urgently whispered, "Here, Upamon. I've never said this before, and don't count on me saying it ever again, but I want you to eat as much as you can hold of whatever these things dish out."

"But Cody ... ," Upamon reminded with a propriety they couldn't really afford now," ... you know if I do that then whatever those things keep working will go crazy."

The small boy heaved a silent sigh at having to insist on improper behavior. "I know Upamon. That's what we need to make them do right now, so ... make them go crazy."

Upamon jiggled two quick nods, and easily took all six jacks into his wide mouth. The little yellow Digimon couldn't help making one more observation, sharing it in spite of the jacks. "You know what Cody? You sound a lot like Davis saying that."

"Don't talk with your mouth full Upamon." The youngster reminded matter-of-factly. The amused digital being was thus reassured that his human partner was really Cody Hida, so he readily started on his surprise snack

Upamon's meal had an almost immediate effect. The Digimon made a "Ymm ..." sound, indicating that data was rapidly flowing his way. Then suddenly warning sirens -- distant warning sirens that were likely set up around the edges of the island started going off. Their faintness to the inside the hub was magnified by their number and layering. Finally, a computerized voice commandeered every compound speaker to tell Cody the best news he'd heard in a long time. The message played and repeated.:

"Warning! Warning! Compound security breech in progress! Compound security breech in progress! East quadrant, North quadrant, South quadrant, West quadrant. Compound security breech in progress! "

Delton Zane and his escort stopped in mid-stride. The look of surprised uncertainty Zane saw on the disguised face was more sincere than he knew. Ethan Hunt really no idea how, but these kind of breaks didn't happen by accident. Somehow, Cody Hida was making this happen. He'd worry about how later, the task now was to make the reversal work. Zane needed no prompting to change their destination. He shouted at Randall over the sirens and blaring announcement, "They can't really be all around us yet! Well, don't just stand there Mr. Randall! Let the brat rot where he is for now! We'll go to the observation point on the roof, and see just where Hunt thinks he's getting on my island!"

The pair of men headed for the higher lookout point. Delton Zane moved with the speed of his anger and Hunt matched with a desperate pace as Randall. Though they hurried, Ethan Hunt knew that the there-and-back required by the simple diversion would now be sufficient mission time. When they reached the vantage point Zane's age betrayed his rage. The rapid climb forced him to gasp and curse before he could look for anything. This allowed Randall first access to each of a set of powerful telescopes trained on the only navigable entry points to the island. Zane demanded to know what Randall could see. The answer was nothing ... nothing was out there. It was an answer that neither pleased nor satisfied the Nordic monster. Finally, Delton Zane took his own looks through the telescopes. He looked twice through each, panning from side to side, before accepting that there was no current or recent activity on the beaches or near them. The sirens and alert message stopped as abruptly as they had begun. Hunt's Randall came to a quick a panicky conclusion. "They're playing with our heads! I've heard about that kind of stuff before. They're out there somewhere, but they just disappear."

"Shut up, Mr. Randall!" Delton Zane ordered. "There's no IMF invasion out there. There never was. You may not be able to cope with their machinations, but I already have. The alert was obviously a malfunction -- one which likely would've been prevented if you did not have skilled technicians scattered over the island on secret agent snipe hunts! Let's get back to what we were doing ... now, shall we?"

The pseudo-Randall led Delton Zane straight to the room where Cody Hida was confined. Naturally, the door was sealed tight, and Randall had to enter a code to unlock it. The child himself lay curled on the upper half of the large bunk, facing the wall, his backpack set neatly at the foot of the same. The boy didn't stir when the door opened, or when Randall entered the room to collect him. Cody Hida was asleep. The man who stood over the boy saw it wasn't a feigned sleep either. It was the kind of sleep that befalls children when they only intend to lie down for a second, and then zonk off as soon as their heads touch a pillow. Randall shook the boy roughly to wake him. When Cody Hida opened his eyes they showed only a moment of surprise. It wasn't the fear realizing he still was where he was. The look was just concern for having fallen asleep. The mercenary hauled the waking youngster to his feet without a hint of gentleness. Delton Zane was watching closely from just outside the room, so Cody tried not to mind the handling.

The only time that Ethan Hunt felt Cody Hida tense under his grip as Randall came when the American indicated the boy's backpack, obviously asking if the boy should bring it, or leave it behind. The disguised agent couldn't reassure his captive about the possession, but Hunt knew what Zane's answer would be. Zane held himself above such details. The brat could have the backpack. Eventually it and its owner could be disposed of at the same time. So Randall shoved the boy over to the article, and the man folded his arms in a gesture of impatience. Cody put his backpack on as quickly as he could, then the American soldier of fortune grabbed the small boy's nearest arm and pulled the prisoner out of the room.

Delton Zane looked menacingly at Cody. Zane was smug in his evil. He didn't bother talking to the child now. Talking to a spare part was a waste of breath. Naturally, at least to Delton Zane's way of thinking, Cody Hida offered no resistance to being marched toward his fate. The little boy was helpless, and could do nothing. The three of them made their way to the special sector in chilling silence. Jace Randall cleared all of the security measures involved in the lockdown. As Cody steadied himself from a shoved re-entry to a place he was supposedly seeing for the first time, the youngster saw all the heavy metal barriers retracting from the surrounding windows, and got a mental picture of a huge jaw of teeth opening wide. When they were all inside Delton Zane chose to play host again, pointing out the extent and features of the room. The description culminated by indicating the Eden Device as the main attraction. Zane was obviously making them wait for something. Randall finally asked what the delay was. Zane offered a frightening smile. "Oh, we're waiting for the scientists to join us and ..." between heartbeats Zane drew a thin revolver concealed in his suit coat, leveling it point blank at the American, "... your replacement Mr. Randall."

In a meeting room at Joe Kido's university, the remaining combined Digidestined raced the clock to review all the evidence they now had. The younger kids' imposed curfews loomed, and even the older kids had to be home soon. It was decided that Joe would take what made sense so far to Kani Miro. Izzy and the rest of the older Digidestined would try to establish who this Zane person might be, if it was anyone at all. The younger team would work on solving the web site riddle that might reveal Cody's location. Everyone realized that, in spite of their best efforts, Cody would not be home that night. After working as long as they could in their respective groupings, Sora came over to the younger Digidestined to try to keep Yolei from being too upset. The older girl was surprised to find the younger teen girl had already gone. Ken explained that Yolei wanted some time to herself before returning to her apartment, so close to where Cody should be but wasn't. At first Sora nodded, and she was about to move on when she thoughtfully paused. Sora asked Ken if Yolei pressed him for any possibilities about the location riddle before she'd gone. Ken admitted that he'd told Yolei they could be pretty sure the clue suggested an island, and one that had to be pretty close to Odaiba itself. The tall younger boy saw Sora frown, and he thought he could reassure her. "Don't worry. I think Yolei has some family visiting. She said she would feel better when she talked some things over with one of her uncles."

Far from being reassured, Sora immediately turned and shouted to the older leader. "Hey Tai, I'm afraid we've got a big problem!"

"What's wrong?" Ken wondered.

Sora turned back to him, briefly considering just how to tell a genius that he'd been played. "Yolei's got a lot of uncles Ken. One of them is a travel agent who arranges transportation for his favorite niece -- usually with no questions asked.

"We have to stop her!" Ken realized, instantly alarmed.

"Brilliant Ken," Sora agreed ruefully. "A little late, but brilliant."


	10. The Battle of Shadows

Mission Impossible: The Hida Factor

--AN: This was meant to be the last chapter, but it's getting too long. I find myself enjoyably re-reading it, and using up all the little time for I have for actually writing the rest of it. Plus, there is the fact that I've added almost 2,000 words since I last reloaded this chapter. I'm moving the last major element -- a final confrontation with Delton Zane and any aftermath -- to an eleventh chapter all its own. I've only got flashes of that in mind, but I think it's going to be good piecing those bits together. Enjoy! -- B.M. --

Chapter 10: The Battle of Shadows

Cody Hida stared at the gun brandished by Delton Zane. The sleek firearm was pointed right at IMF agent Ethan Hunt, who was was still disguised as the man named Randall. The youngest Digidestined had seen, and even been menaced by, all sorts of digital life forms, weapons, and attacks. Cody had laid eyes on the Digimon Emperor's terrifying Chimeramon Yet, the reality of Delton Zane pointing a gun, with the Eden Device looming behind him, was scarier than any Digital World danger. The man Zane wasn't being controlled by Dark Rings, and he wasn't confused like maybe Ken Ichijouji had been. The man intended all the evil that he was doing, and didn't care at all. As scared as he was, Cody was even angrier. The bad man's gun was a cowardly endorsement of the way the boy's father had died. It just couldn't go unchallenged. Ethan Hunt sensed the strain on Cody's disposition, and strengthened his own grip. The youngster could not escape the arm hold that prevented an attempted lunge at the armed psychotic.

Zane sneered and gave Cody some mocking, "Ah ... ah ... ah," of universal baby-talking disapproval. "Little boy Hida will get to suffer soon enough, but now it's Mr. Randall's turn." The European saw the boy refrain, so the man gloated, "Little boy Hida understands. The gun must make my Japanese better." It didn't, but telling the man that meant speaking to him, and Cody didn't want to. The small boy just continued to scowl fiercely. The boy's look was nothing to Zane, who continued with the American. "Let us discuss your replacement then, shall we Mr. Randall, hmm?"

"What do you mean, Mr. Zane?" the supposed Randall asked with an instant of tense hesitation. "I thought we settled. The kid's your problem from here. I take my money and go. If you want someone to take over that's your business but you sound like you've got someone lined up, and I haven't been paid."

Zane offered an apologetic look, "Promises, promises eh, Mr. Randall? I must confess this is a bit ungrateful on my part. After all, I really do have your mundane, utilitarian focus to thank in finally acquiring the Hida brat. Of course, I recognized both of those qualities in you from the very beginning Mr. Randall, so I've intended you for other utilitarian needs of mine. For example, you're the ideal patsy in the boy's disappearance ..." He paused only to grimace terribly at Cody, "... and his inevitable death. So you see, Mr. Randall, you're much more valuable to me now as a silent partner -- rather extremely and permanently silent, than I could possibly pay for, so why bother? Alas, it's bound to be the death of you too."

"You're going to kill me?" Randall asked disbelievingly. It seemed he'd give Zane all the time in the world to enjoy the sick joke -- as long as it was a joke.

Delton Zane sounded an annoyed groan. Toying with unfortunates -- as he couched references to his victims -- wasn't as much fun when they so lacked perception. "Mr. Randall , you have such a plodding grasp of the nearly-obvious. You are going to be killed, that I assure you. However, I'm not going to do it. Your replacement has requested that pleasure." The European held them in the menacing tableaux until they all heard the heavy gasp of a large door, off-set some distance behind Zane, releasing its airtight seal. "Ah, that would be my apprentice joining us now." Zane glared mockingly at Cody. "You like formality little boy Hida? You should enjoy this then. Please allow me to introduce the next great assassin to be forged in the Delton Zane mold, Quint Morgan."

"Delton, I wish you'd be careful not to talk so much." Morgan chided as he walked up behind the senior killer.

"My dear Quint, there's no need to fear for your privacy. We're perfectly secure here. The scientists won't re-enter until I permit it, and these two will be dead sooner than later."

"I'll see to that much right now." the traitor agent declared coldly. He quickly reached for his own gun and began to raise it to a level with Jace Randall's head. Ethan Hunt was faster, doing something that none of them, not even Cody Hida, expected. As the apparently terrified mercenary, he crouched low and seized the boy more firmly with one arm around Cody's throat and the other around the youngster's waist. Instantly, Cody was jerked into a position as a shield against Morgan's intention to fire.

Delton Zane waved off any thought Quint Morgan had of simply firing through the child. "Well, Mr. Randall! I must say, I didn't know you had such a ploy in you." Far from being angered, the master assassin seemed amused, almost pleased.

Free from his need to point a gun, Zane moved to a nearby control unit. "I'm told that the objective of negotiation is to move the other party out of an initial position. I think you'll find this device very moving." He activated a particular switch and an "X" grid of panels retracted in the room's roof, stories above them. A huge bar with six radiant spokes descended quickly from the center of the "X". Each spoke had a powerful hydraulic arm with a grasping clamp. These arms rolled onto tracks that gave them coverage on every angle of the "X", plus the midpoint in both directions.

The deployment of Zane's grapplers was as showy as Zane himself. That gave Hunt an opportunity to direct Cody's gaze -- by subtly turning the boy's head while readjusting the choke hold. Scaffolding framed the interior of the room, supporting walkway levels above the floor. The interlocking patterns in the seams of this scaffolding created nooks a small boy might get into and not be reached easily. Cody knew he couldn't nod to confirm anything, but he also knew what Ethan-san wanted him to do. When the chance came, he was supposed to run, climb, hide, and not get caught.

Zane shouted loudly at Cody. "Oh little boy Hida, what is it that you children say? I believe it's 'ready or not here I come!" The center hydraulic arm, steered by Zane, rushed toward the American with the boy. Hunt waited until the last possible second, then he pushed Cody into a running start sideways while jumping up, avoiding the gaping clamp and landing balanced on the moving arm itself. The multi-directional break kept Morgan from re-training his weapon on either potential target long enough for Hunt to pull the control wires loose and rupture the arm's hydraulic feed. Zane couldn't stop the arm, and the steam that poured from the hydraulic covered both escapes.

Now Delton Zane was beyond angry. "Don't just stand there!" He barked at the dumbfounded Morgan. "Neither of them has any way out of here. Track Randall down and kill him ... now! I have something special to deal with the brat."

"Will that work as well as this last gadget Delton?" Morgan sneered.

"Enough!" Zane roared. "I said find Randall and kill him."

Quint stared hard at Zane, but got moving. "Count on it, Delton."

While Morgan began his pursuit, Delton Zane called out loudly for the Hida boy's attention, "Little boy Hida! Listen to me! Bad time for games like hide and seek, little boy Hida! I don't play nice! I use mean toys to find hiders for me! Little boys easily found! Hearts beat faster, they give off different energy! Come back now or a mean toy will come get you! Too late! Enjoy the game little boy Hida. Your last one!"

Zane was activating another control even as he finished speaking. Cody had just reached the base of the scaffolding when he heard another air pressure hiss releasing Zane's latest evil surprise. The opening hatch was on the same wall as the boy now faced, but much further down from where Cody stood. The youngster was compelled to look , not out of foolish curiosity, but to know what he was up against. It emerged from its wall well. "It" was an ant -- not the little social insect that Cody admired as one of nature's most industrious creatures. Delton Zane's ant was a sleek, metallic corruption of natural design. It was also about the size of a minibus. Antennae flicked restlessly, looking for, then acquiring a particular signal. The robot ant's head did so much turn much as it swiveled to obviously focus on Cody. While it turned the rest of its body, the boy saw that the thing had two sets of mandible pinchers. One set resembled the clamp that Zane had set against Ethan-san. The other set of pinchers was serrated with several points on each side. The ant opened and closed both sets of pinchers quickly, causing sparks to fly from the contact friction of the serrations meeting. Cody started to climb the scaffolding before Zane's hunter took one step in the child's direction. The young Hida also worked to go deeper into the scaffolding. Boys much younger than Cody knew that ants could climb too. Climbing up was just buying time, but climbing in was the best chance to keep the oversized insect at bay while Cody thought of some way to defeat the ant. Of course, the youngster had Upamon with him, and the Digimon would save the day if he could digivolve to Digmon. That was a really big if outside the Digital World. Cody knew Ethan-san couldn't help him now. The IMF agent had trouble of his own to survive.

Cody couldn't spare thoughts for any situation back in Odaiba. If he could have, the boy would've completely understood the exasperated grimace on Joe Kido's face while speaking to Tai by cell phone. The call came in just as Joe was trying to explain the gathered information to Komi Nagamu's portrayal of teacher Kani Miro. It took the older Joe that Cody knew and admired to not become physically ill at having to relate the new problem to the helping woman. Yolei's headstrong decision to continue tracking Cody alone challenged even the IMF's capacity for flexibility. The diversionary game for Cody's friends was already a hasty construct, and now it had to evolve as fast as agent Nagamu could think. The way it was supposed to work, a general indication of who Zane actually was would be revealed to the kids, but not until Cody was safely home. Then they'd be told how helpful information from their novice sleuthing had been when placed in the right hands. Now, Komi had to intervene directly. Fortunately, she could still do that as just an adult taking charge so there was no need to drop the Kani Miro cover.

"Joe, I bet you know the fastest way to get to the harbor from here don't you?" Kani Miro asked as she got her purse.

Joe nodded. "Yes." It was hard to read his curiosity through the obvious discomfort on his face.

She asked a new question, carefully thinking out loud. "Can we get down there ahead of Yolei?"

"Yes," Joe noted with a moment of consideration that would've pleased Cody Hida very much. The oldest Digidestined shook off the one word responses, "This part of the city is between where Yolei's coming from and the harbor."

"Good," she observed and instructed. "Meet me in the lobby. I have to call and break an appointment -- but this is more important now. While I do that you call your friends and have them get home right away, especially the younger ones. I'm guessing Yolei's parents wouldn't be too surprised if she decided to do something impetuous on her own, but the circumstances make that extremely upsetting, so Yolei's escapade isn't anything to volunteer right away. Would any of your group have a problem with covering up disobedience for a good reason?"

Joe almost winced. "The only one who might is Cody ... Ms. Miro, maybe we should ask the police to pick Yolei up. I know Cody wouldn't want her to get hurt even when he can't stop her from getting into trouble."

Komi Nagamu again felt how deeply Cody's abduction effected his friends, and she reminded herself not to play so cavalierly with these kids and their feelings -- they weren't trained agents. Still, they had their unusual group dynamic to think about. "Joe, do you want the police asking what a group of school kids are doing by investigating Cody's taking the way you've gone about it? That's why you all asked me to act as a go-between. Besides, I wouldn't want to become known as the teacher who gave the go ahead by not stopping you kids in the first place. I could kiss my teaching career goodbye. It'll be much better to stop Yolei ourselves, and get her home before anyone's parents imagines she's doing what she's probably trying to do. OK?" The collegian nodded and she continued. "That's settled. Please meet me down in the lobby. I won't be long." Joe, reasonably persuaded, left to call his friends. Komi called hers, pressing a single button on her ultra-secure miniature satellite phone. "Paige, there's a field situation in play. No, we're not compromised -- in fact I think we may have another opportunity developing."

The younger female agent quickly relayed the gist of the latest turn to her acting leader. Paige Brooke assessed the information and counseled on strategy just as quickly. "I agree Komi, that's the boost our end game could use. The sooner we get to Ethan and Cody the better. We'll set your new play in motion. Go ahead, but keep the kids you're with in check -- zero human collateral damage, I know you know that but ..."

"... it never hurts to repeat it," Nagamu finished. "I've got to go, Paige."

Brooke affirmed simply. "Right." Authorization was the gist of the quick contact , but it implied all the concern any IMF agent could convey to another as mission situations changed around them.

Ethan Hunt would have both approved and admired his team's innovative resourcefulness, but like Cody Hida in another part of Delton Zane's sinister chamber, the IMF agent's immediate thoughts were focused on survival. Hunt's thinking wasn't as self-serving as the instinct might dictate. If civilians -- like the Hida boy -- ever had to see IMF in action, what they saw was gadgetry and misdirection. There was so much more that went into preparing IMF agents to do what they did. Once again, Ethan Hunt reached past the point where most men let instinct kick in, allowing him to rely on his specially trained thought processes. IMF agents didn't segment or compartmentalize problems or obstacles during the course of a mission. Each mission had an objective and situations either flowed with that outcome or against it. When it came right down to it, completing an IMF assignment simply meant changing the flow of events so they resulted in the desired outcome. What most people considered as their everyday lives was, more often than not, a series of arranged connections -- Everything was connected. Most immediately for Hunt, that meant that his being tracked down by Quint Morgan, and Cody Hida's fleeing from the mechanical terror Zane had released weren't separate problems -- They were aspects of the same problem because they threatened the desired outcome of the mission. There was never any question of doing one first and the other second. Hunt was trained to do both, and he needed to move as quickly as possible considering the danger the boy was in.

Hunt got off the commandeered hydraulic arm while there was still enough steam pouring from it to cover the fact that he'd done so. Ethan knew that Quint's arrogance and estimation of Jace Randall's lesser abilities would prompt the rogue agent to continue following the arm. That was predictable, typical behavior from Morgan, and Hunt could count on it. Quint Morgan had always been a promising operative, but to a certain point in his career things came too easily for him. Superficial success warped his ego, and Quint started thinking he was a little better than IMF gave him credit for. Blind to his need for improvement, Quint's work was marred by both grand overreaching and slight mistakes. The first flaw could usually be managed with decisively superior leadership reigning Morgan in and putting him in his place. The other flaw was unforgivable at IMF. One agent's sloppiness could kill entire teams. Quint Morgan had never been seriously considered for IMF team leadership. Morgan only believed he was passed over, and then he turned traitor. Once again, Quint was taking the easiest path to doing what suited him. Taking Morgan down ASAP was now fully in line with the course of the mission, but Hunt just might find some satisfaction too, professional and otherwise. Beyond the chamber diagnostic area that centered around the Eden Device itself there was a myriad of cubicles serving as workspaces for the scientists, both medical and mechanical, that Zane had working toward his deadly purposes. Ethan Hunt quickly headed for a cubicle that had stairwell access to the the catwalks immediately above, and other items that he could put to innovative use.

Quint Morgan wasn't fooled for long, at least not by the diminishing smoke screen fading from the sputtering hydraulic arm. He was actually surprised a hack-for-hire like Jace Randall had the brains for a vanishing act. Morgan doubled back, but had to do so cautiously with the possibility that Randall was now behind him -- but why would an escaping coward want to rear flank his pursuit? The recovery from misdirection was swift, but the traitor agent openly grumbled as he realized Randall wasn't anywhere to be overtaken. All the alarm bells that Quint Morgan had ever been trained to survive by should have been sounding, but they weren't. Morgan's ambition and ego had steadily blunted both the noble and practical sensibilities that made doing all the things that really kept covert operatives believing staying alive is worthwhile, much less necessary. Quint was focused on killing people : because he could, because there was money in it, but more and more because he enjoyed the idea of killing people. His dark focus kept him from even considering the scenario about to play out above him.

A sound made Quint Morgan look up to see a figure dropping at him rapidly. Most people would've never seen any identifying detail in the very dark surroundings, but the rogue agent could and did. Even a fleeting glimpse of features was enough to establish the face of Jace Randall. Cold observation noted simply that Randall had miscalculated -- launching his ambush from too high above, allowing too much reaction time. Morgan fired his gun, instantly targeted at the moment of the initial sound. He continued to fire with impressive speed as the unsurprisingly limp form fell to the ground. Three stories above the position that Quint Morgan fired from, the remains of a impressive, rush-job rigging testified to the effort put into the doomed leap. Some cord, a pulley system, a balancing scale, and chemically accelerated fluid fuel burners were the elements of the last secret this Jace Randall could apparently take to the grave.

Gunshots! Cody Hida heard somebody firing a gun. Though the sound of the weapon he hated most would always taunt Cody's acutest memory of loss, there was no time to wallow in introspective fear. The boy knew that Ethan Hunt didn't have a gun when they'd split up. The youngster naturally imagined that Ethan-san had been chased down or worse. Somebody had to do something to help, and since only Cody was available, then he had to do what he could. There was one very big obstacle to the child's heroic determination: Delton Zane's giant robot was hunting the boy down at the same time. So far, Cody had done very well eluding pursuit. He had climbed, wriggled, and squeezed into the most interior of the framework supporting walkways above and below. The young Hida was glad to see that the mechanical ant had difficulties getting at him. It could, and did tear the framing bars in small sections easily enough with its mandibles and pinchers, but the ant was just too heavy. Delton Zane's need to be impressively lethal led him to a fearsomely overbuilt design for his monster. Each time the robot put force into snapping metal, it dropped under its own weight and had to re-establish previous position. Cody was grateful for that, but it was another aspect of the thing's design that sparked the boy's thinking. The youngster made his way as fast as he could to the deepest corner of the support structure -- sided and backed by the chamber's walls, and roofed by one of the catwalk floors. It was a good defensive position, the ant could only really come at him from the front. Cody hoped it would work for what he had in mind too. There was enough of a ledge on the underside of the catwalk to get Upamon out of the backpack and prepare the Digimon for what they were about to attempt.

"Upamon, how close to the Digital World do you have to get to digivolve to Armadillomon?" Cody asked. The urgency of the child's question instantly calmed and focused his Digimon partner.

"Gee Cody, I can do that much as soon as your D-3 opens a Digital Gate to let us pass through a computer screen. What are you thinking about doing?" The second part of the digital being's response was tinged with concern.

Cody answered, but still pressed for more information, "I'm thinking in a hurry Upamon, I just hope I'm thinking right. Once you become Armadillomon you can become Digmon, right?"

Upamon's nod involved his whole face. "If my energy's normal, and if you access the Digi-Egg of Knowledge, and if you say 'Digi-Armor Energize!' -- then sure I can. Please Cody, tell me what you want to do."

"OK," Cody agreed simply, then drew in a deep breath just to prepare himself to finally say it out loud. "There's a couple of computer screens built into the ant, one on the front of its thorax and one on the back. I saw them both when that thing slipped down, then reared back up coming after us. I'm going to try to open two Digital Gates right through that thing -- in the front and out the back. The two portals should be so close together that we won't even land in the Digital World. We'll pass right through it. Since you'll become Armadillomon as soon as we digitize all you have to do is become Digmon before we clear the Digital Gate, then hold on to being Digmon as long as you can as we go through the return gate. That's what we're going to do."

"Oh, if that's all, then it ..." Upamon started to agree until the he realized exactly what Cody's plan would mean if the slightest thing went wrong, or even went the slightest bit right. "Cody, it's great because of what the energy surge will do to that nasty ant-thing. It's also terrible because of what coming out of that thing after the energy surge will do to you."

Cody nodded, unable to deny the dangerous truth his Digimon partner realized, but the boy wasn't negotiating. "I know, Upamon, but like it or not we have to help Ethan-san as fast as we can ... or even get ourselves out of here now. That means trusting what we know how to do ourselves -- and we Digiport all the time. No matter how fast we cross between the real world and the Digital World we always seem to slow down to land safely, if not always comfortably.

Upamon's concerned little features brightened "You're right Cody. That can happen here too."

The youngster vocally grasped for brief confidence, "It will Upamon." Cody and Upamon left mutually honest fears conditioning that conclusion unspoken between them. "I'm really glad you're with me Upamon." Cody gratefully honored his friend

"I'll never be anyplace but with you, Cody," the Digimon promised and leapt onto the child's shoulder.

Cody pulled out his D-3 and Digi-Terminal before putting the lightened backpack on again. "Then let's do it." Together, they turned and faced the robot ant's relentless approach.

Cody knew that timing was important. The mechanical ant had to be very close to access Digital Gates on its built-in computer screens. Should he allow the ant to grab him?. That really didn't seem like a wise idea -- even in a desperate plan. How could he get close enough without being too close for comfort? Then, Upamon gave voice to something Cody felt too. "I wish the others were Digiporting with us."

The boy wasn't as prone to wishing as his age might allow, but Cody sensibly determined that feelings didn't always have to be pragmatic. "I wish they were too Upamon." Cody's desire for the presence of his friends was powerful. It might have overwhelmed him at the worst possible time, but the youngster talked through the intense feeling, hoping it would just free up space in his head to calculate his timing. "Yolei would want to be right up in front, competing with Davis for the chance to open the Digital Gate. Yolei gets so excited about going to the Digital World. I know that means she really loves what she does there, and everybody she's doing it with. Davis has to have real courage, too, if he actually wants to argue with Yolei as much as he does, but friends can do that" Cody Hida gradually became aware of an unexpected source of illumination. His D-3 was glowing. The small boy felt the power that was making it glow. It felt like energy was coming from everywhere right through him. Cody sensed a moment where he might have tried to deliberately say the "right things" to channel more of the energy into his Digivice, but the small boy let that moment pass. This extra energy was a gift, and the only honorable way to receive a gift was to receive it, not bring it to yourself. If there was more to say, then it had to come out on its own -- and because Cody really felt it from the inside. The D-3 glowed even brighter, and Cody continued to invoke the strength of his fellow Digidestined.

"Kari's our bright spark. She was right, a little light of good is a lot stronger than any big, evil darkness around it. She proves it." Thinking of Kari led naturally to thinking about TK, though the younger boy didn't fully understand why. TK could easily be the reassuring brother figure, but the tall blonde boy was anything but easy going when it came battling darkness. "I can wonder about TK's reasons later, but I'm sure that everything he does comes from hoping things can be the best way they can be." Cody was surprised to suddenly think of Ken Ichijouji. The minor lunch-time debate about Ken flashed through his mind. For all the imperial deeds that Cody cited against ever trusting Ken, there was already one small, powerful resource in Ken's favor, the Crest of Kindness. "I've always thought that crests worked one way -- that our crests represented the traits we have best. Maybe they work two ways. They could also help us with the trait of the crest because we need it. Maybe Ken used to be a kind kid, and now he needs the Crest of Kindness to help him be that way again. I need to think more about that, but I'm willing to consider the possibility because my friends want me to." Again, Cody's D-3 glowed brighter.

Zane's mechanical ant bore down, almost within grappling range of its small human target and the unknown life form it sensed near the objective. The field of bright energy around the boy interfered with the robot, causing it to slow down like an overloaded computer program. Still, Cody sensed he couldn't release the collected energy in his D-3 ... yet. Something was missing ... someone was missing. Then Cody knew. "I'm part of them, just like they're part of me. I hold the Crests of Knowledge and Reliability. I know who my friends are, I know how we all try together. They can count on me and I can count on them." Suddenly, the android ant put everything it had left into rearing up against the light barrier between it and Cody. The youngster felt the strain of holding the terrible thing off. He gritted out one last realization. "I can rely on everything I do know about us to trust that we're doing good ... so it's more than reliability ... it's faith ... I believe it's all true!" The ant stopped in mid-rise, caught in the full strength of the power Cody Hida summoned. In spite of the brightness, Cody saw that the thing was stuck just as its computer screens came to eye level for slightly short nine year-olds. Cody saw a Digital Gate open on the screen before him. There was no need to shout what came next, "Digiport open." The small boy gratefully felt the familiar pull of being drawn into transdimensional light.

Cody found that trying to do other things during Digiporting wasn't very comfortable. It normally felt like being pulled along by lightning, so the added movement seemed super-slow. That's why -- even as the youngster turned his head to confirm that Upamon had digivolved to Armadillomon and taken the usual position by his partner's side -- Cody was accessing his Digi-Terminal and forming the words, "Digi-Armor Energize!" Armadillomon transitioned to Digmon just as he and the boy crossed into the Digital World. A backwash of energy from the rapid digivolving tore backwards through the Digital Gate behind them, lasing through the middle of Zane's dishonorable ant like the business end of a samurai's blade.

Simultaneously, Cody and Digmon continued hurtling through a very narrow stretch of the Digital World. There was no hint of the slowing that usually happened after coming through a Digital Gate. The young Hida struggled to see what he needed to see, the returning Digital Gate. Cody realized that he had to take the good with the bad. The good was that this Digital Gate was elevated to the same height they were being propelled along. The bad was that the same Digital Gate was so high because it was on a TV screen encased in the side of a Digital World mountain. Digmon had his own idea about safety while the digital being could maintain his advanced form. In mid-flight the Digimon reached over and drew his human partner closer, gently pulling Cody in front and then arching over the boy so that Digmon's back shell shielded the child as much as possible. Cody repeated, "Digiport open," as soon as he could, and another slight pull told him when they crossed through the Digital Gate. This time, Digmon strained to hold on to his form. When the Digimon finally began to phase into the yellow light that usually marked his de-digivolving, it happened very slowly and the sphere that normally became Upamon again remained Digmon's size while completely surrounding Cody. Together, they rematerialized through the impaled ant's second computer screen and kept going. The energy that trailed behind completed the energy blade that bisected the mechanical insectoid.

The partners slowed and floated to a far corner of an adjoining section of scaffolding. They and the ant were so interior in the support structure that no one outside it had seen what happened immediately before, and would not see what happened next. Cody, hovering in the energy ball that was still somehow part Digmon and part Upamon, watched. Only the encompassing comfort of his digital friend's presence kept Cody from reeling with awe and alarm at the destructive result of the counter-attack he was responsible for. The Digital Gate that had expanded to accommodate Digmon's retained size suddenly imploded. Zane's metal beast crumpled inward with it, like a can subjected to intense negative pressure. The front of the robot rushed to meet the back of it, and top raced to meet bottom -- compacting the bisecting digital energy. The partner sphere around Cody Hida smoothly lowered the boy to the relative safety of the chamber floor before that compression reached critical mass. When it did, the ant exploded from the inside out. What was left of the robotic creature fell to the ground much less gently than Cody's own descent. After the small blast, there was a quiet lurching sound, followed by a loud screech as the whole section of scaffolding surrounding the ant collapsed on top of it -- entombing its twisted scrap once and for all. When Cody reached the ground, the yellow field around him quickly shrank in on itself in proportional reduction until it settled into the boy's arms and became Upamon again. The little yellow being was on the verge of exhaustion, but his black eyes still gleamed with pride, accomplishment, and thankfulness. Cody hugged Upamon tightly, knowing that his own moist eyes reflected the same sentiments to his partner's. The youngster did his best to control himself for both their sakes. The small boy assessed the damage they'd caused. They needed to get moving again, to avoid Zane and assist Ethan-san, but Cody couldn't help summing up as only an atypically self-disciplining child might. "Upamon, if we ever try something like that again ... we're both grounded."

As Cody and Upamon undertook their private battle, Joe Kido and the woman he knew as Kani Miro raced toward a particular part of Odaiba. The college student directed the substitute teacher toward a spot that was sure to be a place to intercept Yolei before the young teen girl reached the harbor and set sail for more trouble. Joe fully understood the need for urgency, but he also knew the heavy traffic patterns that usually effected the area they were heading for. The speed was beginning to make Joe queasily regret the supposedly cautious decision to let the young woman do the driving. Komi Nagamu, easily capable of deconstructing Joe from the over-prepared and over-scheduled collegian he was now to the nervous adolescent he must have been, silently sympathized. The speed she pushed Joe's car with now was meant to convey a sense of uncertainty -- a chance that Yolei might slip by them if they didn't risk it.

Actually, there was zero chance of either traffic problems or failing to wrangle the girl. Because the Japanese efficiently automated the means to handling its flow of mixed pedestrian and motorized traffic, Paige Brooke invisibly tapped into Odaiba's securest traffic mainframe as easily as most people blinked. As for Yolei, Paige was also able to effectively shut down pedestrian traffic approaching the harbor by keeping crosswalk lights from changing until a re-deployed and re-costumed Norman Teller was in position to get the girl's attention. Once he knew she was in sight, all he had to do was engage in a little impolite mouthing at other walkers as he moved on the street across from her. That drew her disapproving stare, and she couldn't miss the large shoulder logo on the side of his jacket sleeve. The logo had four Greek letters Yolei had seen very recently, the ones that translated to the English anagram name "ZANE". Norman Teller knew she started following him without tipping her off to that knowledge, or deriding her attempts to make it look like she wasn't following him. Teller simply electronically signaled Brooke, and Yolei suddenly got every light she needed to trail her suspect. She'd have had to be riding Halsemon to realize she was now following a zigzag pattern that still moved toward the harbor, but was expertly planned for intentional interception at a specific point.

Her pursuit continued until a moment came when Yolei thought she'd be able to catch up to the man just beyond the next intersection. What she had in mind for when she did catch him was anybody's guess, but the capture never happened. Yolei was held in check by not getting the one crossing light she wanted, and immediately, Joe's car pulled up in front of her. The college student was telling her to get in even before he could roll down the window -- the passenger seat window. The tall young girl lost sight of the jacketed man, and she was about to verbally explode at Joe for making her lose her best chance to track Cody, while still doing enough smooth-talking to either get the oldest Digidestined to join her or get out of her way. However, the girl's verbal gymnastics shrank back in her throat when she saw Cody's substitute teacher lean across from the driver's seat of Joe's car to firmly repeat his request. Yolei obeyed and got into the back seat of the car. The teen girl observed a few moments of contrite silence, then she tried to explain about the man with the jacket in a frantic pleading not to leave the harbor area. Nagamu's Sensei Miro-san was in no hurry, and showed every indication of using a ride home for the full lecture Yolei had coming. The teacher was about to start the car when a man knocked on the driver's window. Kani Miro didn't roll down the glass until everyone in the car plainly saw the Interpol identification.

The flat, overly-objective voice was instantly recognizable. "Miss, I'm Inspector Iatsu. This is urgent, so listen carefully. I'm with Interpol. The girl in your back seat there can vouch for me. I've been watching her since she came into the area and started following a man I had under surveillance. I want to know why she was following him -- which makes her a material witness to my investigation. Lucky me, I can't let her out of my sight now, and since neither you nor the young man there is likely to leave without her, what I suggest is that we all get in this car of yours do exactly as I say -- now -- before everyone who looks grownup here gets charged with interfering with an official investigation. How's that sound?"

"Perfecto! Let's get going Inspector. I knew you had to be a ... nice guy ... way ... down ... deep." Yolei's renewed vocal enthusiasm choked to a halt as Ms. Miro-san, Inspector Iatsu, and Joe Kido all looked at her in a way she never wanted to be looked at like again. The triple rebuke didn't matter a moment later as Joe got in the back seat with her. Iatsu took the front passenger seat and instructed the substitute teacher to start driving again back in the direction of the harbor. The girl's only thought was immediately resuming any chance to find Cody as quickly as possible. The man from Interpol "revealed" that the guy Yolei had been following was suspected of communicating threats to some influential business leaders on behalf of a shadow company. The teen girl impulsively volunteered that company's name Omega Alpha of New Epsilon. Yolei's candor made Inspector Iatsu demand to hear everything that any of them knew. Kani Miro offered a wise example by remaining silent. Joe stammered like a phone's busy signal while trying to come up with something to say. They both left Yolei free to say everything and nothing. She brought up everything they suspected about someone named Zane and potential map coordinates to go toward, but Yolei said almost nothing about the way their circumstantial evidence was gathered. The lanky girl told Iatsu how his own remark to Mrs. Hida about fringe groups started it all. Yolei had "friends" who helped. They had "only looked" at "stuff" and "just asked" lucky questions in a few places. The translation of Greek letters into a Western name was described "a wild idea". Yolei finished by telling the now over-talked investigator that of course, nobody knew what anything meant because after all -- she and her friends were just kids. The fact they went to a new teacher instead of the police with the results of their "detective work" only proved that.

Norman Teller threw Inspector Iatsu's hands up with convincing exasperation. "That's enough." He took a calming breath as the young teen girl looked him with a I'm-just-telling-you-kind-of-what-you-asked-for shrug "We'll talk about all of that later. As a matter of fact, Interpol has information that this guy is headed for an island, somewhere just off the shipping lanes approaching the ports here. There's a lot of little islets in that general area. The numbers of your so-called map coordinates are actually in the vicinity. I'll check it out." He said it as dispassionately as ever, then directed his words to Kani Miro. "Let me off at the marina docks. I'm making you personally responsible for these other two until I come back. I'll be back, count on it, but now I have to find a boat. With any luck I'll catch sight of the suspect on the water with enough distance between us not to notice.

"Hey, you're not going anywhere without me Inspector!" Yolei demanded with unusual confidence.

The Inspector countered her with irritated sarcasm. "Give me one good reason why you're in any position to say that young lady."

Yolei responded instantly, and with unsettling ease. "I'll give you three. I already have a boat waiting at the marina, I'm the only one who can sign it out, and you're running out of time to keep up with what's-his-face in the jacket."

Inspector Iatsu stared at the girl for a moment, then coolly instructed the teacher. "Park. It looks like we're all going." Yolei settled back in victory, though her thoughts for her youngest and best friend still fueled the intensity of her combative attitude. Joe Kido shared all her concern, and now desperately tried to recall everything he remembered about warding off seasickness. Kani Miro and Inspector Iatsu were thinking well outside the characters they portrayed, because they were IMF agents Komi Nagamu and Norman Teller. The double charade with the two teens gave both operatives a rational cover to reach Ethan Hunt and Cody Hida. Teller and Nagamu were both gearing up for whatever they found on Delton Zane's island.

Quint Morgan kept his gun trained on what he saw as the corpse that used to be Jace Randall hit the floor. The sound of bones snapping was thin, unprotected from the thud of flesh that should surround them. Instead, there was instantaneous muted popping that sounded like ... balloons weighted with some substance splitting open. That substance wasn't Randall's visceral contents, but a powder that billowed up from impact and coated everything around it, including Morgan. The renegade agent knew the powder was a compound. He could smell and taste one of its key components -- ordinary flour, obviously for aerial dispersal. Morgan waved and blinked quickly through the few steps it took to loom angrily over the body that wasn't a body. He took the decoy in at a glance, now careful to keep his guard up. It was a medical display skeleton, dressed in scrubs and a lab coat. A remnant of cord was looped through a hole punched through the back of the clothes, wrapped between the fixed ribs and cinched to the spine. The face on the now shattered skull was Jace Randall's in perfect synthetic reproduction. Quint Morgan understood instantly, and screamed with a combination of anger and strange gratitude, "Ethan! Ethan Hunt! What, did you want two weeks notice or something? This is it Ethan, game on buddy. Today I graduate from IMF second-stringer to world-class assassin. I'm really glad that my final exam turns out to be you, not some lowlife mercenary fall guy and a runty little kid!" Morgan spit and hacked, not totally out of vehemence, but because of the substance that covered him. Flour wasn't the only thing in the mixture. There was something granular to it, and something metallically acrid. "You've been rummaging through the science goodies. I love the skeleton, great job. You put whatever this stuff is into latex gloves, inflated them and stuffed them into the clothes, really clever. Right now I'm wishing I'd brushed up on tactical chemistry. So what is it, Ethan? I'm dying to know, and if I'm not, I promise that you will be."

"It's not as impressive as I'd hoped Quint. I didn't really get to finish it." Hunt's voice came from all around. Morgan fought the sting in his eyes to open fire with the gun he'd reloaded while trying to verbally rile Hunt. "Zane's scientists were a big help, Quint. A bunch of them left their cell phones lying around when they evacuated. It didn't take long to make them ring with a single number. Take all the guesses you want about where I am. You won't get to reload that gun again." Morgan tried to turn a growl into a laugh as Hunt continued. "Now, let me help you with that chemistry. You know about the flour. That spreads out great -- but it also prolongs the reaction I was going for. The rest of the ingredients are sugar and potassium nitrate. Ethan Hunt moved to act and describe while Quint Morgan processed what the particular combination added up to. "All you need now is a light!" Hunt's voice came specifically from above, prompting Morgan to raise his gun again. Just as the gun came up, a flaming test tube: stuffed with burning cotton soaked in lighter fluid impacted with Quint Morgan's wrist. Other flaming test tubes followed quickly. The air flashed with a purplish burst that became choking yellow-brown smoke. The open flames reacted with the coating substance, spreading purple flares and smoke like the burning of marshmallows over a campfire. Quint Morgan was in the middle of a giant, improvised smoke bomb.

The turncoat agent drew on his own reflexive training to prepare for an immediate attack from Hunt, an attack that was unnervingly delayed just long enough to ensure that Morgan barely mistimed a well-guessed spinning backward roundhouse kick, aimed to crush Hunt's throat as he approached. Hunt countered by crouching low and quickly swiping Morgan's support out from under him with a leg whip. It was too much to hope that Quint would land flat on his back. Morgan braced instantly with his arms, then pushed himself back into a fighting stance. Both men knew that Morgan was the better fighter, but Hunt engaged him physically for a reason. Of the two, only Ethan Hunt cared to remember that physical combat was a poor substitute for superior strategy. Rather than drawing Hunt into a prolonged fight that would prevent saving the Hida boy, Morgan was stupidly up on his feet with fire in his eyes -- immediately ready to fight and kill IMF's best with all the macho bluster his ego could generate. Quint Morgan launched into a vicious series of punches and kicks, hoping to get in close enough to use a killing move. Ethan Hunt blocked, retreated, and managed to deliver only the key blows he needed to check his assailant's deadlier ambitions. Throughout the exchange Hunt leapt up when Morgan attacked low and dove to the floor when the traitor attacked high. Hunt had to move that way a lot because Morgan was relentless, but only eight of the moves counted. Hunt had planned it, and Morgan had no idea. Their combined, sweeping movements cleared away much of the heavy smoke that remained. The gun -- Morgan's gun -- became visible on the floor behind Morgan himself. Ethan Hunt saw the slightest hint of the look in his "friend's" eyes that told him Morgan knew the gun was there too. Hunt barely twinged in the gun's direction when Quint Morgan managed one effective kick to the other man's midsection that sent Hunt sprawling backwards. The loyal IMF agent made a halting effort to rise, but didn't.

Quint Morgan reclaimed the gun, and declared victory. "Looks like you were almost right Ethan. Turns out I won't have to reload my gun." Hunt was still struggling to rise when both men heard a huge crash from another part of the oversized chamber. "It sounds like Zane's shop project needs to dig little Cody out from beneath an industrial-sized erector set. When it does, I'll tell what's left of the little guy how much you hated failing him. Goodbye Ethan." Morgan pulled the trigger. A bullet exploded from the gun's chamber. It impacted against a solid wall of glowing, green energy and landed on the floor only inches away. Quint Morgan blinked once in disbelief, then he immediately took in the new situation. Green energy surrounded him in a narrow box formed by the emitted fields from eight small transmitters -- four above him affixed to overhead grids, and four below him adhered on the floor in corresponding positions. Morgan had retrieved his gun at the center of a waiting containment area. Quint realized that Ethan had trapped him. Hunt jumped up easily from the floor, unshaken by any feigned injury. He walked briskly over to the imprisoned counter-agent. Morgan could not hear Hunt through the energy field, but lip-reading would work. "That was close, Quint. I almost forgot to give you the parting gift from Norman." Hunt held out the tiny signal button he'd used to activate the fields. Ethan Hunt's voice became cold. "I'm going to make sure you get everything that's coming to you -- buddy."

Morgan immediately tried to destroy the transmitters, but they were each protected by the very energy they emitted. The trapped man became physically violent within his confines. He could not force his way through the barriers, so he finally attempted being clever -- the last resort of a man who would never be clever enough. "Ethan, I can give IMF Zane's whole network. You know what a blowhard he is about his work. Well, I've listened to it all. I know every name. The assassins are only the beginning. I'm talking about his financing and counter-intelligence. There are big fish on Zane's hooks in every agency you've ever heard of. I've kept records -- encrypted records. IMF can have it all."

Hunt made all that out easily, even though the anger behind the words wasn't helping either Quint's lip articulation or his credibility. "That's really very congenial Quint, especially from a man who just tried to shoot me."

Quint growled, but quickly gritted back into talking. "Yes ... and that was a business decision Ethan, in some weird way I know you understand that. Now you've changed the terms, so I'm negotiating."

Ethan walked a slow tight circle around Quint Morgan's projected prison. He seemed to be considering the traitor's offer, even pausing for thought three-quarters of the way around. At the end of the pacing, he asked. "The information you've got could probably solve a lot of old problems for IMF -- ones that go back years, right?"

"More like decades." Morgan tempted. "You want a preview Ethan? Not a problem, ask.

"What about just three years ago, Quint. Tell me about the broken op on the plane the night Zane nearly blew our our original evacuation of the Eden Device."

"That's it?!" Quint's expression of disbelief was almost mocking. "That's settling for a cardboard box when I'm offering deluxe accommodations."

"It's what I want to know!" Hunt articulated sharply. "Answer my questions about that night and I'll press this button again before a sweep team can extract you." Hunt held up the tiny control for the transmitters.

Morgan looked suspicious. "Why would you do that?"

Ethan Hunt's reply came with the speed of personal ego. "Because I want to know, and because you know that if I even imagine seeing or hearing of you ever again, I'll kill you. That's what I'm offering -- or would you rather have the deluxe accommodations that IMF reserves for agents that don't even rate the disavowed list?

Quint wasn't completely stupid, after all. "OK, deal. Three years ago it is."

The IMF team leader's questions were intense and immediate. "You were working with Zane that night weren't you Quint? You gave him our game plan, intelligence for airport set-up, and blocked my communications when I called for emergency support, didn't you?"

"Yes." Morgan spat the answer. "Anything you don't know already Ethan, or did you just want to make me say it?"

Ethan shook his head in eager assurance, "Not at all, I'm still shaky on a couple of important details. The killing shots, there were two different shooters, weren't there?

"Yes." Quint confirmed.

Hunt nodded in an I-thought-so manner. "Zane killed the inventor. In a twisted way, he saw the doctor's informed cooperation with IMF as disloyalty. But Zane didn't shoot the police officer, did he Quint? Zane knew who I was in disguise because you told him. Zane would kill me last, want me to suffer in failure, and above all do it up close and personal. No, the person who shot at me wanted me dead, but from far away and with someone else to blame. The man who fired that shot -- that man was a pure coward. Were you that shooter, Quint?

Quint Morgan's eyes were dark and stone cold. "Yes."

"Then you killed Officer Hiroki Hida?" Ethan Hunt asked with an oh-that-means expression.

"That's the way it turned out," the rogue agent confirmed. "Not that I mind, but you've got me on treason and trying to kill you, but the thing you want hear about is that fool cop's clueless heroics?" It's a good thing you aren't a lawyer Ethan."

Hunt corrected by raising his index finger to make a single point. "Quint, it all depends on knowing who your jury is. You see, you can't hear me through the fields around you, but they actually broadcast what you say into little earpieces I'm wearing. There are two pairs of earpieces. I've heard everything you've admitted to ... and thanks to the English to Japanese translation feature so has he. Ethan Hunt stepped aside to reveal Cody Hida, behind him. The boy looked physically taxed, but that was nothing compared to the anger that blazed in his face.

The boy's first knowing step toward his Dad's murderer was the hardest, but each following one was as grueling in its deliberateness. It became a march -- the kind that police officers used to tell disruptive people that a serious reckoning, backed by all summoned resources, was unavoidable. Ethan Hunt simply stepped out of the way to let the youngster pass, it was the boy's right. Quint Morgan wouldn't care, and he would never understand, but Cody Hida's righteous condemnation marked the captured man as a bad man -- an evil man -- who would willingly and on purpose never, ever be good ever again. In all the universe there would never be a more powerful consignment away from goodness than an innocent child's conviction that a person was no longer capable of it.

Morgan went to the opposite extreme. He actually berated Cody, "What's the matter kid, you lose something important? Do you think looking at me like an angry little puppy is going to get to me? It's not. Do you think I'm going to apologize for killing your Daddy? I'm not. He got in the way! He was stupid! Go ahead and cry, it's useless. If you really want to get something out of this, then you better hate me. Hate me! Let it teach you to hate other people just enough not to die for them, OK? While you're at it, save some of that hatred up for your friend Ethan there. He was my target, not your Daddy. By now you know Ethan is really good at what he does. Don't you think that he should have been good enough to keep your Daddy from getting in the way? That means Ethan would be dead right now, but your Daddy would be alive -- and you'd be home with him safe and sound right now, with your Mommy ready to tuck you in . I think Ethan should have been that good. In fact, I think he is. He just didn't want to die that night, so he let your Daddy die instead. Deep down inside Ethan knows the same thing -- so give him his fair share of the hate you should feel right now. After all, that's the polite thing to do."

Cody's whole face quivered through a range of emotions as Quint Morgan taunted him, but he wasn't going to say anything. No matter how badly he wanted to shout -- scream -- against the man's insulting rant, no response like that would ever convey the one truth the killer had to be made aware of. The young Hida knew that he was the only one who could depict that truth, so the boy silently called out to for an extra-special memory and the strength to do it justice. The youngster drew from among his earliest lessons in true politeness and helpfulness -- really in goodness -- his Dad had taught him years before

"Being polite and helpful will always serve a man well Cody, you can remember that right?" Officer Hiroki Hida encouraged. Little Cody Hida nodded, extra-dutifully. The pleased father continued, "That's good, because doing those things mean you do good for others, but they make you better too. That's what character means, so they build character Cody. That's a big word, can you say it?

The very young boy nodded, and happily put everything he had into repeating the requested term like a politely muted trumpet blast "Character, Daddy, character."

Hiroki Hida cheered. "That's great son! That's a lesson more people should know."

"Even big people like you Daddy?" Cody asked, always wanting to be mindful of the differences that Mommies and Daddies needed sometimes.

"Yes, even big people like me Cody," Hiroki affirmed. "Here, let me show you what I try to do every time someone comes up to me for help while I'm on duty. I stand in a special way to show them I'm listening to them and that I'm ready to help them . It's like this. I stand up straight, that shows I'm alert. I keep my hands at my sides and my feet together to show that I'm not too rushed or busy to help. Holding my shoulders back with my chest out a little bit, but not too much, means I'm trying to be strong without looking mean. Someone should feel that talking to me is safe and easy. Finally, and most important Cody, I always try to look right at a person's eyes when I'm listening and talking to someone. That's the very most important thing. I do that trying to tell every single person I talk with that they matter to me like a friend. There's another big word for putting what those things mean all together Cody. All of it together is respect."

The child nodded vigorously, and repeated without prompting, "Respect." Then he asked, "Do you get to respect everybody Daddy?"

Officer Hida smiled at the thoughtful nature of his little son's innocent question. "I'd like to Cody. I certainly try to respect everyone for being another person with the rest of us. Sometimes people who do bad things on purpose don't let me respect what they've done, and I have to stop the bad things from hurting other people." Hiroki paused when he saw Cody's face scrunch with a still-cutely righteous anger. The idea that anyone would dare to do something bad on purpose, and mess up his Daddy's chances to respect that person was just ... wrong-bad-wrong. The father quickly assured his son that there was always a way to respect something, "I know how you feel Cody. People trying to do bad makes me a little angry at first too. Just remember that the chance to respect something is always better than getting angry about badness. I'll tell you what helps me Cody, then you can try it if you think it will help you, OK?."

"Course it does help from you Daddy, OK thank you." Cody certainly determined.

"Good," Hiroki Hida continued. "I try to remember that whenever people try to be bad on purpose there are always more people trying to be good on purpose. There might be one bad person, two bad people, or even a bunch of bad people, there are always, always more good people -- billions more good people."

Cody looked puzzled for a second, and finally asked in a tone sounding like he should already know, "Are billions more than bunches Daddy?"

Hiroki laughed, but composed himself in a still-amused way when he saw the unmistakable what's-so-funny look on Cody's serious little face. "As a matter of fact Cody, billions are bunches and bunches and bunches more than the biggest bunch you can imagine.

"Or even Yolei can Daddy?" the small boy asked, thinking the size of Yolei's imagination would be a harder thing to beat.

The father nodded with confidence. "Bigger than even Yolei could imagine!"

"Oh." Cody Hida responded with the briefest hint of childlike amazement while his mind processed what his Daddy said as an everlasting truth, "OK, Daddy. Thank you."

"Son, the real thing to remember," Hiroki Hida bent down to share with his boy face-to-face, "and the thing to take to heart isn't the numbers -- it's the people and the good that most of them want to do. That's what I can always respect. That makes anybody who does good stronger, and sometimes it's enough to make bad people want to be good again, sometimes it isn't because they can't find the good inside them anymore. No matter what, a good person needs to show a bad person that the good stays even when any bad that tries to stop it. Good is forever Cody-kun, bad isn't, and that's a truth that can always and must always be respected by those who care. When I show that to a bad guy, then I know I've done my best, even if the bad guy never, ever understands."

Little Cody Hida imitated his father's special ready-to-help-stance and offered his service, "Me too, Daddy. I want to show bad guys what's good too."

Other fathers easily would've laughed at the sheer cuteness of the small young boy's overreaching determination, but Hiroki Hida knew that his son's statements like this started out as a promise, and only got more serious from there. He smiled to show Cody that a casual attitude was OK, but Hiroki also nodded with approval and appreciation. "Well Cody, I hope it's a long, long time before you know anyone who's trying to be bad on purpose, but I believe that when you do you really will show what good is, because you are a good boy. Hiroki stood behind Cody in scaled stances at attention -- only with the man's hands supportively resting on the boy's shoulders. "You can do it when you have to Cody. From now on, you're part of the good that I'll show, and I'll be part of the good you show. OK, partner?

"OK partner Daddy, thank you very much," the young Cody Hida formally affirmed then smiled, just like his Daddy.

The spirit from the memory ... the spirit of Hiroki Hida's faith in the power of good radiated across time in the mind of his now nine year-old son. Cody came to attention in exactly the same stance his Dad had enthusiastically demonstrated and described. The youngster looked Quint Morgan squarely in the eyes,. At that moment, Cody was completely the continuation of a life that Morgan had changed, but not destroyed. A legacy of goodness had been handed on from father to son. The words that came to Cody Hida's mind were the words of a four year-old who knew his Daddy was standing right behind him. They would be the only words Cody Hida would ever say to his father's killer. "Good is forever, Mr. bad guy, and bad is not. My Daddy says so." Encouraged by a loving certainty as real as the two strong hands that had once confirmed that truth for him once and for all, Cody Hida turned away and walked back silently to Ethan Hunt.

The little boy's calm in dismissing Quint Morgan's only hold over him made the traitor agent angrier than ever. Quint furiously tried to dig claws of manipulation back into the child. "That's really telling me off kid. I'm sure I'll feel that in the morning won't I? I'll send you a postcard if I do. Oh, didn't Hunt let you hear the part where he said he'd push the triggering button on this box again if I came clean about the op three years ago? The one where I shot your Daddy! Look at me! I said look at me, you self-righteous brat! I killed your Daddy!" The man realized how out of control he sounded and forced himself into a false, sinister calm. "Never mind kid. Some day, Ethan or no Ethan, I'll teach you a lesson or two myself, personally. Right now, Ethan has to press that button. He said he would, and you can't let him lie about it -- Your Daddy wouldn't like that."

Cody looked only at Ethan Hunt and nodded. "Press the button Ethan-san, you told him you would."

"That's right Cody, I did." Hunt acknowledged and pressed the small button for the second time. "I just didn't say what would happen when I did." The energy fields that formed the box around Quint Morgan began to resonate. Morgan realized he wasn't being released, he was being rendered unconscious. Quint only had time for one last lunge against the front of his tight prison before he collapsed in captive sleep.

Ethan Hunt wasted no time on savoring Quint Morgan's defeat. He turned his full attention to Cody Hida, who wasn't the least bit surprised that the bad man had been fooled. Cody had been fooled too, sort of. Ethan Hunt-san had at least kept his promise to show Cody his Dad's murderer. However, the agent let Cody believe it had been the bad man Zane. Hunt had also put Cody on the stage at the mall with Morgan without making that evil responsibility clear. Ethan knew that every credit he had in the youngster's estimation was weighted against a debt of deception. Cody saw this man again as just good enough to be tolerated and just bad enough not to be a hero. The mannerly and practical boy pushed through the tension between him and this adult because they still needed each other. "I came as soon as I could to help you Ethan-san."

"Thanks," Hunt offered genuinely before re-gearing them both. "You've been through a lot Cody, now you realize that it was more than you thought, but at the time you just didn't need to know. I hope someday you can understand." Hunt changed the subject. "Did Zane's ant malfunction?"

Cody was more honest than he needed to be. "I guess it did when I destroyed it. I mean I guess the explosion destroyed it, but I knew it would -- that and the scaffolding that fell down on it."

It was a rare thing for Ethan Hunt to be surprised, "Cody, how did you that?"

"Ethan-san I can't tell you that," Cody Hida stated matter-of-factly, there was no trace of sarcasm in his voice. "You just don't need to know."

"Then, I'll try to understand that someday." The agent skewered himself on his own patronization because the boy wouldn't. "One bad guy down, one to go. Cody, I'm going to find a way for you to get back in the wiring shafts, then I want you to get to the main hub and stay there until I come get you. This thing with Zane ... it's going to be bad."

"No Ethan-san, please." Cody politely but stubbornly refused. "We're not splitting up again. I have to help against the bad man Zane. He might expect to see one of us again, but I'll bet he'll be surprised to see us both. Especially since you are ... you now."

Ethan Hunt smiled, I think you're right Cody, and I think we can use that to our advantage. If you did the job against Zane's ant that I think you did, then I know where we'll find Zane if we hurry. Let's go."


	11. The Samurai's Triumphs

Mission: Impossible - The Hida Factor

[AN: The general disclaimer about not owning Digimon, Mission: Impossible, or any derived characters naturally still applies, even after all these years. Their use in the following is still for entertainment purposes only. I'll add an epilogue to this to tie up loose ends, sometime in this decade (maybe). Enjoy!]

Chapter 11: The Samurai's Triumphs

Delton Zane marveled at the destruction, at first. His robot ant had obviously stopped at nothing to track down the Hida brat. The one annoying thought in his sinister mind was that his toy or its havoc had already killed the child. Zane hoped he could find the Japanese whelp somewhere barely alive, all the better to maintain him as a comatose source of living genetic material. Of course, it would be possible to salvage DNA from the body of the Hida son and replicate it when needed for filtering Hunt's accursed blur from the Eden Device's sequencer. Continuous replications would degrade over time and become increasingly less effective, but one had to do what one had to do.

The killer savored the irony of actually maintaining a semblance of a boy's life for the express purpose of killing more people in the long run, but soon technology encroached upon his pleasure. The robot was programmed to seize its target and hold it for retrieval. Zane was using a device that both activated and traced a homing beacon built into the ant's head. The man couldn't understand why the signal was so choppy and not much stronger now than it had been when he'd turned it on. He also expected the signal to lead him past, or at least around the gnarled mass of scaffolding remains. Instead, the European directly faced the bulk of the ruined structure. Frustrated, Zane switched his tracer to its echolocation mode. It beeped steadily, and Zane listened for the return blips from his hunter in the alternating pauses. The blips responded, but they came from practically where the man stood ... and at his feet. Delton Zane looked down and saw a crumpled curve jutting from the edge of the debris. That curve was part of his robot's head! He felt the same sense of loss that one might mourn a favorite pet with if suddenly struck down. Yet the feeling was also deranged because the portion of ant wreckage that Zane saw should currently be engaged in firmly holding at least some piece of the Hida boy, and it currently was not. There was no boy, no body part, no blood, and no tissue, nothing! The mechanical beast had failed. Moreover, it had been destroyed - by a child?

Delton Zane checked his building rage only because the very idea constituted an impossible task for the Japanese runt, or rather an impossible mission. "Yes," and suspicions of the Impossible Missions Force led by Ethan Hunt snaked through the European's mind as the single word hissed out of his mouth. It finally dawned on Zane that Jace Randall had never returned to the base - that Hunt had replaced the American mercenary. That was almost impressive, especially since Hunt actually dared to operate without his team, and to bring the Hida brat along as his credentials. However, the assassin quickly discounted crediting Ethan Hunt all that much. After all, the limits of Zane's true use for Randall had obviously trapped the American agent in his adopted role. What had Hunt really been able to accomplish, but merely delaying the whelp's torture? Hunt had played the part long enough to gain access to the lab through the boy, but what of it? The dual menace of the mechanical ant and the traitorous Quint Morgan could only have forced Hunt to leverage his safety for the brat's. For all Zane knew Ethan Hunt was lying dead - either by Morgan's treachery or beneath the debris that claimed the robotic ant. Even if Hunt was still alive, he would be reeling, and still burdened with the protection of a terrified, helpless child. Delton Zane had proven, to his own immense satisfaction, that he was prepared for IMF, indeed he thrived on that kind of opposition as a true super-villain.

As Zane soothed himself with grandiose self-estimation, he was also watched. Ethan Hunt assessed his target from the seclusion of a catwalk both well above and across the floor. Zane was alone now, but Hunt wasn't. Cody Hida stood watching Zane through the railing instead of over it, the way any small boy might. However, Cody observed with stillness and quiet that few children would choose. The IMF agent's understanding of Cody Hida's inclinations originated with tactical psychology, but Ethan Hunt now appreciated that the boy's atypical behaviors were indeed choices Cody intentionally made - no longer responses to premature tragedy. The boy was knowingly, honestly the way he was just as surely as he watched Zane with a combination fear and determination to defeat the bad man's evil with justice.

"What are we going to do Ethan-san?" Cody asked, whispering. Cody's inquiry begged no question that the next step would include him, and Hunt mentally replayed Komi Nagamu's earlier warnings about maintaining the child's ethical boundaries much more loudly than the young Hida whispered. Ethan Hunt had already chosen the approach against Zane with a line of thinking that anticipated the assassin's own. Playing up the madman's assumption that Cody was a helpless child had been instrumental in secretly achieving the proximity to disable the Eden Device itself. Now, Ethan Hunt planned to destroy Zane's ego and disable any hint of that warped sanity by convincing him that he was helpless against the single-handed effort of the nine year-old Japanese boy.

Hunt finally replied, "Actually, I think we need to let you stop Zane all by yourself."

The small boy didn't realize what the American man meant. "I don't understand Ethan-san," Cody quietly admitted honestly, but the admission was also a challenge, politely and softly demanding a clearer response to his question.

Ethan Hunt had gotten Cody Hida to seek details that would subtly help the boy accept the strategy. "All along, We've had Zane thinking that you're helpless. Even destroying his robot ant has him thinking about me, not about you, because he doesn't believe you could have done that. He'll do everything he can think of to beat me or any grownup on my team. That makes you my key player again. You got to the Eden Device because Zane had no idea you could. Now, we're going to make him think that you're after him, and that he has no way that can stop you."

The boy pondered Ethan-san's objective until Hunt indicated they needed to get moving. Cody followed obediently, but he whispered the thoughtful hesitations that could not delay his steps, "I understand more now Ethan-san, thank you, but I'm not sure I'd believe it. If I can't believe it, then how can we make the bad man Zane believe it?"

"Zane will believe because we'll build the reality of it up for him. You can believe in it by participating in the steps that do that," Ethan-san advised. Cody silently supposed that was correct. He could believe enough to do what the American agent asked him to do in each part, that had to equal belief in the whole thing. The Child of both Faith and Knowledge matter-of-factly settled on that conclusion.

Zane was quickly heading for the the Eden Device, but Ethan Hunt led Cody Hida in the opposite direction with just as much speed. The IMF agent led the youngster to a rounded elevator shaft. Cody was already observing details about the elevator, and those details pointed to facts that didn't make the boy very happy. "Ethan-san, that elevator looks like a big straw coming right up through the floor." Hunt didn't say anything to evaluate Cody's comparison, so the young Hida asked, "What does this place look like on the outside Ethan-san? I couldn't really see it when you brought me here in the boat."

Ethan knew what Cody was really getting at, but he played the seriously simple game just to let the boy stay calm by thinking things out completely. "This is the biggest part of the Zane's compound, so he disguised it as an enclosed marina for storing boats - extending right over the channel in from the bay by resting on supports anchored into the ground - under the water. Those were the three words the man knew Cody didn't exactly want to hear.

"Oh," the boy noted in bothered monotone. "So, the elevator goes down under the water. Elevators go up too Ethan-san. Is there any chance that we're going to take this one up higher than we are now?"

Hunt looked at the boy in a way neither cruel nor comforting. "No, Cody. The master control room for this lab complex is a small bunker buried into the sea floor directly below us. We're going to go down there."

Cody almost asked Ethan Hunt to pull him into the elevator and close the door fast. Instead, the youngster silently stepped into the elevator beside Ethan and managed a brave face to go with the nod that allowed the adult to start the platform's descent. The elevator shaft became a sturdy but transparent tube completely surrounded by water as the young Hida and Hunt rode downward. Cody knew he'd explored deeper depths while piloting Submarimon, so he kept reminding himself that he wasn't afraid of deep water anymore, well at least not nearly as much as before. He told himself that being in this tube wasn't any different than being in Submarimon's cabin - if that cabin got really, really really long. The boy gripped tightly to the railing that curved behind the platform to fight the urge to ball up on its floor. Then suddenly - the ride was over, and a door opened to the underwater bunker. Cody got off the elevator quickly, but as good as it felt to get out of that tube, he felt even better about not giving in to panic.

Getting Cody Hida, who's fear of deep water was documented in school records, into a submersible elevator reminded Ethan Hunt of two pieces of advice that IMF agents shared like shop talk. The first was: if you start having trouble working past some of the things you have to do in the field, then you need to consider resigning from IMF. The second was: if you ever stop hating some of the things you had to do in the field, then you need to resign from IMF immediately. Still, Ethan Hunt correctly anticipated that Cody would occupy his mind with battling that individual fear rather than fearing the psychotic individual who had a fate worse than death planned for him.

From the elevator, Hunt led Cody to a machine than looked a little like the housing for one of those automated photo booths that malls had sometimes. The American agent wanted the boy to stand on the machine's platform and hold very still. Normally, following instructions and keeping still were two things Cody did very well, but the youngster hesitated. Even though he felt as safe as Hunt could make him, the boy had already seen the Eden Device, and his imagination of Zane's plans for torture by technology made interacting with anything in the lab feel like a very bad idea.

"It's a personal image scanner, it generates a three-dimensional representation of the scanned person for virtual reality meetings." Ethan Hunt explained in encyclopedic fashion. "Zane deals with a lot of people who he can't safely meet face to face, and people who definitely can't safely meet with him. This is one of the tools he uses in planning bad things, but now it's going to be a tool helping us stop Zane from ever doing bad things again." Cody Hida nodded in determined agreement, then dutifully entered the scanning area. Ethan Hunt engaged the scanning process and watched as its imager rendered a virtual boy, complete with intense stare and backpack. Once the scanning process was completed, the American agent processed the base image toward an increasingly realistic look. "Cody Hida, meet Cody Hologram."

Cody watched as his high-tech twin improved from video game quality to a mirror image. He knew that it was some form of projection, but he wondered how it could look so solid. Ethan-san answered the unasked question for him. "The small laser arrays in the imager constantly build the image on top of itself in a circular motion. If you penciled a bunch of dots in a small circle on a piece of paper really fast it wouldn't be long until you didn't see the paper."

The youngster nodded, but the answer led naturally to another question. "Oh, OK. But when there's no paper to dot, what does this thing use?"

"It uses a thinly sprayed mist of gas that reacts to the laser's light, the human eye does the rest of the work with the way it retains images and blends them together." Hunt explained to the observant Japanese boy

"I guess that's why it makes me look like I'm a red stoplight," Cody noted. "Ethan-san, it's not normal to be glowing red, so how will this copy of me fool the bad man Zane?"

Cody's questions progressed so systematically that the American agent was never delayed or distracted by answering them. "The lab's security lasers will create a grayish hologram of you, so between flooding the lab with steam and triggering its emergency lights, Zane won't realize the difference. Be ready to be leave the bunker just as soon as I establish control of the laser network for the lab. We have to get you back up there so Zane knows that you overload the pressure in the hydraulics, causing it to explode."

The assignment startled the youngster. "I have to do that, really? I thought the plan was to only make it look like I was doing stuff."

Ethan Hunt simply said, "We need a a little truth to build our plan on. I haven't met anyone better at truth than you Cody."

Cody was glad to be described that way, but he matter-of-factly insisted on a respectful correction. "I'm young Ethan-san, but I'm not that little."

Elsewhere, but getting nearer and nearer to Delton Zane's compound, a rented boat plied its way through the water. The boat was being driven by Norman Teller, disguised as Inspector Iatsu from Interpol. A harsh scowl kept him clearly in charge, and freed Komi Nagamu to portray substitute teacher Kani Miro with more sympathy for the craft's two teenage passengers. Poor Joe Kido was obviously no more comfortable with high speeds on water than he was on land. On the other hand, finding Cody couldn't happen fast enough to suit Yolei Inoue. "Hey, I don't understand why we aren't just going to the place we have the map coordinates for. We need to get there and back before the sun goes down you know. We need to get Cody back!"

Although Norman Teller felt the familial angst behind the tall girl's words, the procedural nature of Iatsu's demeanor remained firm. "Getting the boy home safely is the goal of this entire investigation, young lady. Those coordinates of yours are well off the shipping lanes, but we'll get there. Other potential locations are closer and need to be checked out first. There's also the man with the jacket. He could be anywhere out here. The best thing - the only thing - you can do now is to keep quiet and leave things to me."

Yolei reacted to the Inspector's abrasive discounting with an insulted "Hmph!" that would have been enough for most other teenage girls, but she was quickly building toward an outraged storm of words churning with the growling "Urgh!" that was unmistakably hers.

Joe recognized the warning signs of Yolei's temper and pleaded with her, "Yolei, please don't rock the boat."

Yolei rolled her eyes briefly, but she sighed in frustration, "I'm sorry Joe. It's so hard not to stir up trouble if it can make finding Cody happen any faster!"

"I know." Joe sympathized while admitting, "Actually, I meant literally please don't make this boat rock any more than it has to. I'm trying to keep from turning green." He managed a strained smile at his own expense. Yolei actually managed a smirk, and felt as better as the ill-feeling collegian could encourage her to.

Any other conversation was cut short by Sensei Miro answering her cell phone, apparently set to vibrate rather than ring. She certainly answered the call casually enough, even though Komi Nagamu knew the phone's very ordinary appearance masked covert purposes. The device was only designed to ring out loud if the agent using it rang it by remote if necessary for any moment of a mission. However, if it vibrated - as it did now - that meant a high priority message impacting on the mission was being transmitted. If unanswered, the message would be vibrated out in an IMF' code. If an agent could answer, the response was framed in a spoken code that other listening IMF team members could pick up on. When Kani Miro pleasantly greeted the call with, "Hi, Mom," Norman Teller knew immediately that she was speaking to Paige Brooke.

"There are three heavily armored and well-armed speed boats that just left port from three separate locations around Odaiba. They are converging to head toward Zane's compound," Paige explained rapidly. "Zane's Japanese business contacts have decided to erase their association with him - completely! If those hit squads reach the island they won't leave a trace of anything or anyone there. You and Norman have to stop those boats."

"Mom, you know how I hate to be under the gun, but don't worry I'll be happy to take care of what you need. Are you sure three will be enough?" Kani Miro assured, instantly conveying from Nagamu to Teller an alert for the three-fold and armed situation coming their way.

"Verbal code acknowledged, Komi. Do not, repeat, do not involve the kids, and maintain your cover unless absolutely necessary not to," Brooke instructed.

"Sure Mom, I'll keep those plans under wraps for now. I'll call you later, bye." Sensei Miro-san hung up, and let a separating moment pass before addressing Yolei. "I noticed you got a map of the harbor when you signed this boat out. May I borrow it, please"

Yolei handed the folded map to the teacher, "Sure Ms. Miro-san "

Kani Miro took the map, "Thanks Yolei." Komi Nagamu purposely unfolded it out across both she and the girl. "My mother's always calling me with projects. This one is opportune and honestly, I feel so worried and helpless about Cody's situation that I could use the distraction."

Yolei knowingly took the misdirecting bait. "What are we looking for on the map? I think I could use the distraction too, so I don't go crazy - like maybe you noticed?"

Nagamu smiled through the character of Miro, "Maybe something like that. We're looking for the buoy locations around the perimeter of the harbor. Mom's heard that you can get one named after somebody, and my father's really into unusual gifts. She wants to make that his birthday gift. She wants three suggestions that make use of at least two fives in the I.D, number, because he's 55 this year."

Yolei blinked at the strangeness of the teacher's explanation, then shrugged. "That's weird ... and very sweet ... but still weird." Cody was still very much on her mind, so she remembered to include politeness, but blunt blurting just came naturally to Yolei

The substitute teacher sighed. "True on both counts."

With the Inoue girl diverted, Komi Nagamu covertly scanned the map for all the tactical information she needed to factor very quickly. She noted their own current location in the harbor, and correlated that to the three likeliest departure points for the three attacking crafts. She mentally worked out the speed at which such crafts could pursue at if the harbor patrols paid no attention, giving her an arrival time at the likeliest point of convergence. Nagamu did all this while casually feigning interest in Yolei's suggestions. "Those are great Yolei. Mom gave me four numbers to try for purchasing the naming rights, I'm going to see if I can't lock in a rate that targets her price range. She thinks they might be out of this world." Kani Miro's hint of family foibles passed more code from Komi Nagamu to Norm Teller on the manner of dealing with the approaching trouble.

Nagamu punched in three sets of numbers on Kani Miro's mundane-looking cell phone. With each attempted dial, the substitute teacher expressed frustration at either not getting an answer or just reaching voice mail. What she was actually doing was sending encrypted sequences that would temporarily, and simultaneously re-direct the transmission waves of three very powerful broadcast satellites to focus on a single point in the Odaiba harbor - at full signal strength. The effect would be to microwave the gas tank in one of the approaching boats ... the middle one. Kani Miro dialed the last number she was trying in her cell phone like she just wasn't sure if she had it right. The show at second guessing was enough to cover Komi Nagamu's countdown to triggering her blast. "That's got to be it," she announced firmly. She pressed the button. There was just enough time for Ms. Miro-san to show the annoyed look of not getting an answer again before a cascade of three quick booms caught their attention from across the water. Kani Miro assessed the disturbance with unsuspecting anxiety. "That sounds like thunder somewhere on the harbor."

Yolei Inoue leaned over to Joe Kido, who was sure that bad weather from behind them was suddenly making the water rougher. The tall girl sympathized, "I hope we don't run into that storm either Joe. My uncle's going to need his security deposit on this boat back."

**********

Delton Zane was satisfied by the Eden Device's system lights indicating that it still functioned perfectly, or would once the master sequencer was filtered. There was yet no victorious declaration from Quint Morgan, and that absence was increasingly convincing proof that Ethan Hunt still lived. Zane was just as sure that positioning himself near the Eden Device gave him the upper hand in an inevitable confrontation with Hunt. The IMF agent would not leave without the Eden Device, or securing its destruction. That would be the American agent's downfall. Once Ethan Hunt was dead, the European could use the ploy of bargaining for Hunt's life to lure the honorable Hida brat to his own fate.

However, at that very moment, Cody Hida was quietly moving across the darkened catwalks above and opposite the bad man Zane. The boy headed toward an upper level level of secondary control systems. Cody had to get to some big levers that opened the channels feeding the lab's hydraulics with water from the bay. The boy was being guided to his destination by Ethan-san through the special earpieces they both still had. Hunt had stayed back down in the underwater control bunker. Cody might have been scared to be physically alone in the current situation, but knowing that Upamon was with him comforted the boy past that fear, and the Digimon used the necessary quiet of his place in Cody's backpack to assist his young human. Upamon increased the energy that he and all other Digimon used to bond with human partners on an extra-sensory level. Upamon's hope for Cody's safety increased the youngster's sense of being safe just when he needed it most. The youngster reached the hydraulics control panel, and was dismayed to find the panel was too tall for him. If that wasn't enough of a problem, the shafts of the levers looked to be as big and heavy as large baseball bats. "Um, Ethan-san I don't think I can do this. I mean I don't think I'm big enough or strong enough to reach or move the levers." Cody admitted sub-vocally to the American agent.

Ethan-san didn't seem to hear to the boy's self-limiting assessment. "The first four levers need to be pulled all the way toward you. That will completely open all the hydraulic channels. Tell me when you've done that."

"But ..." Cody stopped his own objection. There simply was no one else to substitute for him, this was his task and he had to do it, that's what Ethan-san's non-listening answer meant. The young Hida turned what could have been stubbornness into determination instead. Cody positioned himself in front of the first lever, then he jumped up to grab hold of it with both hands. The boy dangled off the floor for a moment before setting his feet against the face of the control panel itself. Pushing against the panel, and the wall behind it, gave Cody the leverage he needed to pull the lever back like rowing with a big oar until it was as far toward him as it could go. The youngster let go of the lever, needing a couple of huffs and puffs to catch his breath before lining up to the second lever to do the whole thing again. One by one, all four levers came down. Cody gave his report, trying not to let his voice complain. "The levers are done Ethan-san. I mean they're down. I guess I mean both."

"Acknowledged." Hunt confirmed. Cody Hida certainly deserved a "thank you" and "nice job" for his effort but he wasn't going to get one, and the IMF team leader wasn't going to give the boy time to miss the courtesy. "There's a board of dials built into the facing of that control panel. The board pulls out and flips down. Turn all the dials on that board all the way to the right. Tell me when you've done that." Ethan Hunt heard a restrained sigh, and then the same type of effort-filled breathing that had gone into moving the levers. The American could mentally picture the small Japanese boy struggling to quietly slide the panel out and down. The retractable guide frame made it possible for Cody to handle the panel, but it was still wide and heavy. There was silence for a time as Cody obviously engaged in re-setting the dials. This time the youngster simply said he was done. Hunt confirmed, now every hydraulic device in the lab was set to maximum pressure. With all the controls where Hunt wanted them to be, the IMF team leader keyed in a security sequence from the underwater bunker to lock out the control panel that Cody had adjusted.

"What do I do now Ethan-san?" Cody asked.

Hunt responded, "Open the utility cabinet next to that control panel. Get out the tool box and the longest extension cord in there. There's a big switch on the wall next to that control panel. As quickly as you can, tie one end of the cord around the switch and the other end of the cord around the handle of the tool box. Tell me when you've done that."

The youngster heaved the heavy tool box, wrestled with the extension cord, then strained to loop one end of that cord through the y-shaped switch almost out of his reach. Cody tied the best knots he could in the cord very tightly, and he tested them both with firm tugs. "I'm done," he reported.

Ethan gave his next set of instructions urgently, "Hurry, push the closed toolbox off the ledge of the walkway you're on!" There was something about cause and effect that didn't make complete sense to Cody, but the boy was a little too tired from his recent efforts to require that it make complete sense, so he did as he was told. The toolbox fell, and quickly took all the slack in the cord with it. The switch ripped off the wall. The toolbox, the cord and the switch all slammed down on the lab's main floor in one very noisy crash.

The young Hida was nearly too panicked to speak in the way that Hunt could hear him. "Ethan-san, I must have made a terrible mistake. Now the bad man will know exactly where to come right away."

Hunt answered with a practiced calm. "That wasn't a mistake. You just tore that emergency pressure release switch off the wall, Now Zane won't be able to stop the hydraulic overload. You weren't going to be able to yank it out yourself. We want him to come there now, so you have to be someplace else. Find the nearest ladder. Go up two levels, then very quietly and slowly keep moving to the left until you are all the way across from where you came up from. Climb down the ladder there back to the floor, use the back side of the ladder and you won't be seen. Get going." The complex set of instructions, and the time they would take would effectively keep Cody out of the way while Hunt maneuvered Zane into disarming himself. As soon as the youngster was moving, Ethan released a thin cover of hydraulic steam from the floor level before systematically re-directing the increasing pressure toward the altered control panel above. Hunt kept the strained localized system just on the brink of rupturing. It would explode in a massive cloud of superheated steam the moment that Hunt allowed it to.

The treacherous European did not disappoint Hunt. Zane quickly abandoned proximity to the Eden Device, hoping he might snare the Hida brat in a clumsy, frightened moment. The assassin saw what caused the noise, a childish attempt at a "booby trap." Had the whelp actually planned to drop the tool box on him? No, that was nonsense. However, carelessly moving things to make a hiding place was much more likely, so Zane cunningly judged the drop's origin and climbed the nearest ladder to that level. Zane drew his sleek revolver and stalked his prey silently. A bullet wound would teach the Japanese runt obedience by pain and blood. Ethan Hunt wasn't going to disappoint Zane either. When the killer looked down to check his position above the fallen tool box, Hunt was ready. Cody had done more than he realized. The boy's rearrangement of the panel's dials let the American operative back feed a high charge of electricity directly into the console, which flashed brightly before flaming hot. Zane, momentarily blinded, lurched against the railing to avoid being burned. Hunt used that moment to project the hologram of Cody down on the floor. Enraged and visually disoriented, Delton Zane saw the Hida boy looking up at him, obviously motionless in fear. Zane extended his weapon to fire it, then Hunt let the hydraulic system explode. Delton Zane screamed in pain as scalding steam erupted from pipes all around him. He was knocked against the walkway railing, with a force that engaged instincts to protect his face and keep himself from falling. The revolver fell from his burnt hand, and dropped to lab floor, hidden under a heavy, super-heated cloud.

Cody Hida heard the terrible scream resound across the lab, and the boy knew that the bad man Zane was suffering. The youngster also knew that Ethan Hunt had used him to make hurting the bad man possible. "Ethan-san, stop it." There was no response. The small boy repeated himself, more precisely and firmly. "Don't hurt him anymore."

"He'll survive. Zane's fate is completely in his own hands." Hunt said in an uncomforting way. The IMF agent had pushed the boy toward this outburst - mild as it was - ever since they'd left the mall. Though small handprints and unsubtle dial adjustments showed Zane that Cody Hida had rigged the control panel, the European already discounted that as an instructed task, carried out well. In fact, if Cody had known he was enabling a painful ambush he would not have done it. Ethan Hunt needed Zane to believe that only Cody was confronting him. That required the boy to want to confront Zane. The youngster would willingly lecture Zane, especially if he thought doing so was better than causing him pain. "You want to stop Zane without hurting him?"

"Yes Ethan-san." Cody was glad that what he wanted seemed to matter again.

"Could you tell him anything that would really make him stop?" Hunt asked.

The boy thought in the obvious, clear-cut manner of a nine year-old pragmatic. "I think I'd tell him that the bad machine can't work any more. Since it doesn't work anymore then he doesn't need me. I can also tell him that the sooner he gives up, the sooner we can get him to a doctor. That would be the truth Ethan-san." Cody Hida wasn't asking or checking about that, only telling.

Hunt played at shaking the boy's nobility with realistic odds - knowing that Cody's inclination to stubbornly be noble would only grow. "It's just 50-50 that Zane won't kill you on sight because of the Eden Device. Without that it's 100% against. It could never be that simple."

A decisive moment of reflective silence ended with a small sigh. "Grownups always say things like that, and I know that grownups have to be right about most things ... but I believe." The purest certainty protected the youngster from being deliberately naive. "I believe grownups get sad with the way they usually treat each other, and being sad keeps them from knowing that it really might be that easy ... if they let it. Ethan-san, I want to tell him all that. I have to try to tell him that because I believe it. I'd like it if you would please help me do that, but if you can't ... or won't, then maybe you'll have to stay out of it while I do."

Ethan Hunt worked silently through hating his newest deception to begin it by saying, "We'll have to see things in a different light when it comes to Delton Zane."

The only thing that pushed Zane through the searing pain from his burns was his own seething anger. Getting down from the level where he'd been attacked proved excruciating, but he was going to get back to the Eden Device before Ethan Hunt had any more time to be clever. The European's appearance now fully reflected his true, monstrous nature. His hands were charred to the third degree. Their last truly useful service had been the imperfect protection of his face. The assassin's face was now marred forever with the open-fingered pattern of his own hands. The flesh of his face that found refuge under his hands was still pristine. The features left uncovered were little better than his hands. In result, he looked like he had been clawed by something terrible as a sign of the evil inside him. Zane took the last corner on his path badly, and he fell. He screamed again as he naturally tried to break his fall, and push himself up with his ruined hands. It had to be shock and delirium, but as his vision fixed on the Eden Device he saw the Hida brat standing in front of the machine. "It's time to give up, please." The boy said with his infuriating matter-of fact manners.

"Come to your senses about making your suffering brief, little boy Hida?" The Zane monster hissed.

Cody Hida shook his head with a mix of determination and pity. "No, I mean you. Please it's time for you to give up."

Delton Zane's mocking laughter was more hurtful to himself than to the child's attempted politeness. He lurched and staggered, but steadied himself. The killer could still win. He just needed to get his hands - his blackened, ragged hands - on the boy. How much trouble should it be for the cunning spider to draw in one more little fly. "Little boy Hida says his nicest pretty please, but the big bad man still won't listen."

"That just it, please just listen to what I trying to tell you," Cody sighed and felt his own stubbornness putting more insistence in his voice. "You need help! You need a doctor! You need to give up!"

Zane snarled his response, "Don't dare to tell me what I need to do, you infant! Why would I possibly give up to you when you have just given me all that I want. I have the weapon, and now I have you!"

"The bad machine doesn't work anymore. I did something to make it stop working. Now you can't use me to make it do anything to anyone - ever." Cody spoke calmly and slowly to make the words clear, not to insult. For a second, the revelation hung between the two of them.

"You're lying!" The European accused both sharply and suddenly.

Cody shouted right back, "No I'm not!" His round little face reddened at the obviously insulting conclusion, and Zane believed he had touched the nerve that would provoke the Japanese runt into charging at him in anger - which would be the last thing he would live to consciously do.

Delton Zane twisted the words out of his mouth until they hid his pain behind a strong, disapproving tone. "It's a shame that such a small boy is such a big liar. Did you really expect me to believe that you could accomplish that? I'd no sooner believe that of you than I'd think that you destroyed my robot ant without Ethan Hunt's help, or that you lured me to that exploding console. No, you are a pathetic, helpless child. It's time to end all the charades, little boy Hida. It's time for you to stop lying!"

"I am not a liar!" The youngster was almost cutely furious. He balled his hands up into small fists rigidly straight down at his sides, and he leaned defiantly in Zane's direction. He even took a couple of steps forward, but stopped just as suddenly and backed up. The child settled for a fierce scowl.

If the European couldn't goad the young Hida quickly enough, maybe the boy's precious honor would be his undoing. Zane produced a remote control from one of the pockets of his smoldering suit coat. He worked a few dials before explaining, "I will prove you are lying little boy Hida, and you will regret the way I can. I'm going to set the Eden Device to fire. I did have my scientists make one special improvement. The machine is now capable of delivering its charge in a short range laser just in case some of my clients got grabby when I showed it off. The laser is now pointed straight at both of us. Thank you, little boy Hida for placing yourself between it and me. You clearly are your father's son. You'd never be fast enough to avoid being hit. Don't worry though, little boy Hida. If all you said is the truth, then nothing can happen. If you've been lying, maybe you'll live long enough to crawl to me and apologize." A click on one of the buttons on Zane's remote started a rapid processing response from the Eden Device. The killer was immensely satisfied "Goodbye, little boy Hida,"

Cody only had time to think one thought. Ethan-san had told him that the bad man's fate was in Zane's own hands. The boy's eyes narrowed with pondering, but suddenly widened to focus in the remote's direction. Delton Zane mistook the change in the brat's expression for fear as the laser fired. His own expression changed to surprise as the bioelectric charge passed through the boy - or rather the holographic image of the boy - without effect. Instead, it claimed Delton Zane in its path.

Down in the relative safety of the underwater control bunker, the real Cody Hida stared in numb disbelief at the image scanner's viewer that showed him what his holograph could see. The bad man Zane crumpled to the floor and, after a few violent twitches, he did not move at all. The boy could not make himself look away, but Ethan Hunt pulled him from the scanner platform. Cody only glared at Hunt, and the youngster's stormy look made his realizations painfully clear. Cody knew that he had done exactly what he'd been instructed to do earlier when he'd snuck into the lab and used the secret rope knot tool on the bad machine. Now, that could only mean that whatever he had been sent to do was never about keeping the machine from working. Someone had wanted - and planned for - the machine to work at least one more time. Even worse than that, the small boy's sincere appeal to the bad man about giving up was ... used ... on purpose ... to line the man up, and now that man was. "Is ... he ... d-dead? Is he ... going to die now, Mr. Hunt?" Cody's throat was so tight that croaking these questions out was a choking effort.

"No." Ethan really hoped the truth of that single, unvarnished word was tribute to the child's sense of mercy. "My friend Norman programmed a new one-time protocol for the Eden Device. The charge that hit Zane is going create a sort of loop in his memory. He'll know who he is and everything he did right up to the time he got zapped, but each time he sleeps and wakes up his memory will re-set to that point. He won't be able to remember anything he plans, and every day for the rest of his life is going to be his first day in a special jail. After that one shot the Eden Device fried itself for keeps.

"All that is what I made the machine ready to do, isn't it.?" The young Hida challenged.

Hunt nodded, "Yes."

There was tense silence as Cody absorbed the blunt reality, "So it's all over?"

The IMF leader acknowledged. "That's right, It's time to go our separate ways. I'm going to take the boat and deliver Zane, Morgan, and what's left of the Eden Device to a follow-up team. In the meantime you're going to be rescued. I've got a cover story for you with all the truth you'll want to tell.

"I want two things even more than that, Mr. Hunt." Cody's non-use of any respectful name was as punishing as the boy could be to an adult.

Hunt likely already knew, but he asked, "What are they?"

"I want to go home and," Cody said, on the verge of tears, "I never want me or anyone I know to see you ever again, Mr. Hunt - no matter what you look like."

"OK," Ethan Hunt said as Cody wiped away the tears from his eyes, and the youngster knew it would be the truest thing this man had ever told him.

Cody Hida and Ethan Hunt left the lab together and made their way back to the little room that had been Cody's cell. As they went, the American agent told Cody what he could tell people about his kidnapping. He could say that he'd been locked in a room when he got there, and he'd been taken out of that room for a while. The man who had taken him from the mall had argued with his boss. After that, the kidnapper had put him back in the little room - where the rescuers would find him. All of those things were true. Of course, they didn't tell the whole story - but nobody would expect or believe the whole story from a nine year-old boy. Cody could also tell people that he honestly never knew what was really happening during his time as a prisoner. That would also be the truth, because Hunt had never been honest about what everything really meant. Cody listened and agreed to the things he could say, but he did it all without ever looking at Ethan Hunt. The youngster even kept his head down as the American easily removed the tiny earpieces Cody wore. The small boy silently turned away from Hunt to enter the room. Cody eased his backpack off and set it on the edge of the room's bed again, before lying down on it himself, curling up to face the wall. Ethan Hunt entered a triggering sequence in a calculator-like remote control just as he shut Cody in. The man watched the small room fill with anesthefog through the window in the door. Cody could get some of the rest he deserved. Meanwhile, he had sweep work to do back in the lab. Ethan couldn't blame the kid for his disdain. In fact, it was exactly how Cody should feel if he was going to grow up to value all the noble qualities that made him a remarkable child. Ethan Hunt had done more than physically protect the young Hida. He had also made sure that Cody would never admire or adopt the concept of good by deception. The boy had a chance to be truly good, always good for good reasons. That's what Ethan Hunt preserved too, and all it had cost the man was Cody's friendship.


End file.
